Stairway to Heaven

It took us about thirty minutes to (briskly) hike the mile or so of the AT from the parking lot on 94 up to Pinwheel Vista. The first part is an easy climb, but the trail gradually becomes more technical (and un-​runnable), though it’s a popular hike for families. At the top you’re rewarded with a beautiful panorama of the surrounding area. Despite my best effort, the Unilocal address is still incorrect, so you might want to cross reference the Google address for Pinwheel Vista.

Gorgeous views, spectacular place for peace, quiet, and a great hiking experience. A little tough to find, but it was definitely worth the hunt.

A good hiking experience but the view was not as spectacular as everyone built it up to be. As Leila said in her review, the view is just mostly farmland.
We hiked from Rt 94 versus from 514 which shortened the hike some. The only marker that this is the right trail is the «AT Parking» sign. I used google maps to try and find the location and was not sure if I was in the right place or what.
Also, as noted in other reviews, this is a popular trail so do not expect too much solitude

A great day hike. It took us about an hour to do the vertical section of the trail. It’s a technically simple climb that’s easy enough for a whole family, but still makes for a good workout.
Beautiful views of the valley below from the top lookout, especially during fall when the leaves are at their peak. Highly recommended.

Fantastic hike. great job done by all involved. love that the views from the top. Be sure to bring water. took us beginners about 45 minutes to get to the top but and about the same down cause you really gotta watch where your walking with all the rocks. easy to follow the trail and usually run into people buy not too crowded. depending on the day of course. most enjoyable and quite the workout

It’s a pretty easy hike, if you find the right parking lot. We parked in the lot that made it a 5mi hike instead of the 10 mi hike. The view is pretty nice but all you see is farmland, nothing spectacular. Then we drove around to get on the boardwalk with the suspension bridge. One can easily do combination of both these hikes in one day at around 10mi round trip. Nearby are also a lot of apple orchards so if you come during season, you can also pick apples!

We did the Stairway to Heaven hike with the Pinwheel vista, and combined it with the boardwalk marsh trail that starts about 2.5 miles before the trail head for the mountain. The boardwalk marsh trail starts off of 517 and marked by a sign with two hikers. Parking is on the shoulder of 517 and very limited. Overall this section of the trail was very easy and kind of fun because the board walk sections make it an unusual trail. There are lots of families on this trail, and even more dogs, so watch out for dog poop on the boardwalk. The coolest thing about this part of the trail was because you are walking on an elevated board walk, you did not need to watch the ground as closely as usual, so you are able to take in the view. Towards the end of the trail, after breaking off into a dirt trail for a while, a second boardwalk appears, but it is not as wide as the first section and would be a little harder to traverse for someone with any mobility issues. A cow pasture marks the end of this hike, and the mountain trail starts across Route 94 where there is a small parking lot.
Combining both trials, the hike was about 7.5 miles, most of it easy going, expect for the ascent and descent on Wawayanda Mountain which was fairly step at times. Littered throughout the Stairway to Heaven trail are giant stone steps, which make the climb a little bit easier, although I did a fair amount of huffing and puffing on the ascent. This trail is very popular, so you’ll see lots of day hikers, and even some thru hikers doing the Appalachian Trail. I was very happy to have my hiking poles for both the ascent and decent, but most of the other day hikers did not have poles and seemed to be fine. Bring lots of water and watch out for snakes on the trail; we saw two snakes, which isn’t surprising with all the rocks and snaky looking crevices on the trail. Over all I would recommend this hike, although I think I prefer trails that don’t double back.

Nice hike, but definitely need to remark the trail markings. Boardwalks were awesome.

My friends wanted to do something we all have never done. One other friend recommended it and we decided to have lunch at the top of the mountain. For a first-​time hiker it was difficult. I can’t believe there was little kids probably from the ages 7 to 10 that were also doing this hike!!! But it was all worth it. The view was incredible. Who knew they had this in New Jersey. you’ll definitely need a water bottle or two just to keep you hydrated, really good pair of sneakers, make sure you wear comfortable clothing and a sweater if you were going this time of year. It took us about an 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the top and 30 minutes to come down. There are white tick marks to help you along the way so you won’t get lost but take your time. No rush

If you live in NJ take a Saturday or Sunday and go out there and do this hike! You don’t need to be an experience hiker because the trail is well marked. The hike can get a little intense in some areas since it’s not a flat road it’s lots of rocks and it’s steep (so you will def be working out those legs and buns!)
I came with a group of new hikers and we stopped a few times for water and rest. You will often encounter locals and people that are doing other trails but everyone was very friendly and respectful. The best part of this experience was that we got to see two black bear cubs! It was a quick sighting because we let them be and we didn’t want to encounter the mother! A hiker from another group had a bear whistle and he blew it a few times we waited around a few minutes before heading back down! Going down everyone warned everyone about the bear sighting for safety reasons. Going down was fast and easier but be careful-​some of the rocks do move and you can easily sprain your ankle. I normally wear sneakers and never found it to be a problem BUT I would def recommend boots for this hike my toes were hurting by the time we got back to the car! Go out and enjoy this hike disconnect from the world!

One of the best hikes in NJ. (Has to be in the top 3, along with Mt. Tammany and the Giant Stairs at Palisades.)
1) The hike up is somewhat challenging, but even small children can do it.
2) The overlook is worth the hike. You can see farms from the top (very cool) and the Kittatinny Mountains.
3) The trip down is very simple and easy.
Awesome hike. Must visit if you live in NJ.

My girlfriend really wanted to take me out of my city comfort zone and into nature so hiking was the solution. I was skeptical because it was my first hike and I didn’t know what to expect but this trail was so beautiful. People passing by were so nice, the view was breathtaking, and the trail was well directed. I’ll be sure to come back!

I’ve heard about this trail since I moved up to Orange County 9 years ago. I hiked it for the very first time on Easter Sunday to have tea & mediate at sunrise. It was amazing!!! very rocky, but not very difficult to navigate even if you’re a beginner like me. The trail does get steep and the view at the top is simply breathtaking.

What a great hike!
I had driven past this part of the AT for a few years, and had never gotten the chance to hike it. Recently, we brought the dog and decided to hike to the top. It’s really amazing how there are all these rocks literally placed to form a staircase. The hike gets extremely steep at some points, but you never really notice because your just walking up some stairs…
I used a pedometer for the hike, and it was 1.7 miles to the top from the parking area at the bottom. The view is amazing from the top, and I recommend you bring some snacks as the whole hike will take at least 2 hours minimum.

This beautiful hiking loop is not as difficult even for beginners. Very scenic and diverse: you’ll start of with winding boardwalk trail with sites of swamps and turtles, then forest sections with wild fields, river with a high raised wooden bridge, farmers’ fields with cows, highway and, on the day we were there, we even caught some live music rock festival. Once you get to the foot of the mountain, it may look a bit challenging but it’s not that bad. There’ll be a mid level and high level observation spots. Both featuring spectacular views of the valley. If you are really exhausted you can turn around at the mid level, but seriously, getting to the top is much shorter than may seem, so i’d say finish it. By all means, great time!