Kanouse Mountain

Kanouse Mountain, Pequannock Watershed (1/14/2012)

Those driving north on Route 23 in Newfoundland may notice an American flag flying high above the road on a mountain to the west of Echo Lake Road. That's the southern-most peak of Kanouse Mountain, a mountain which parallels Echo Lake on the west and continues north beyond the lake. Today we headed to that American flag and its extraordinary view.

We parked at the Echo Lake office of the Newark Watershed Conservation & Development Corporation and headed north on the Highlands trail on the western bank of Echo Lake. After just over half-way on the western bank we turned left and followed woods roads first west and then south, climbing two peaks of Kanouse Mountain. Both peaks afforded nice vistas (at 1100 feet), but the best was the amazing vista marked by that flag high above Route 23 at a slightly lower altitude, overlooking the Charlotteburg Reservoir. The last section is actually blazed in red, though on the NYNJTC Jersey Highlands Trails Map #125 it is shown merely as a woods road. The red-blazed trail also appeared to continue south past the flag and down toward a rest area on Route 23. While that is certainly a shorter way to get to the top, it's also much steeper than the way we came. After taking in the awesome views, we headed back the same way we came.

Total distance hiked today was 5.7 miles in just under 3.5 hours. A permit is required for hiking in this area, which can be purchased at the office on Echo Lake Road. The permits are good for the calendar year, so the earlier you purchase it the longer you will have to hike in these areas.

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