New Jersey trails · Halifax Trail
Halifax Trail
A 2.6-mile out-and-back in New Jersey, with 266 ft of climbing. Reaches Glasmere Ponds and other lake destinations. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the middle third — 62% of the ascent, between mile 0.9 and mile 1.7. It gives back about 299 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Glasmere Ponds (lake)
- Swan Pond (lake)
Getting there
Pierson Ridge Trail access. About 43 min drive (20 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Paterson. 41.11636, -74.21849 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:39 a.m., the sun rises at 7:07 a.m. and sets at 6:18 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:45 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 11 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 5.1-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 10 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:17 a.m. — 9 h 01 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Halifax Trail + Mountain Bike Trail + Crossover Trail — 2.9 mi loop, 441 ft gain
- Halifax Trail + Five Ponds Connector + Five Ponds Loop — 4.1 mi loop, 483 ft gain
- Halifax Trail + Five Ponds Connector + Five Ponds Loop — 4.4 mi loop, 746 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Ringwood-Ramapo Trail — 0.8 mi
- Crossover Trail — 1.2 mi
- Halifax — 1.3 mi
- Vista Loop — 2.7 mi