Torne Mountain/Osio Rock Family Hike

Today we headed out to Bloomingdale, NJ to hike Torne Mountain/Osio Rock. The drive out to the trailhead from Princeton was about an hour and 20 minutes. The weather was perfect, temps were pretty comfortable and it wasn't too humid when we got to the trailhead around 11am.

Directions to the trailhead: Rt 287 to exit 53, bottom of the ramp turn left onto Hamburg Turnpike, right onto Glenwild Ave. Parking area is next to Bloomingdale/West Milford border (look for Welcome to West Milford sign, or Welcome to Bloomingdale sign depending on which direction you are traveling.) Parking is at the "Otter Hole" parking area of Norvin. 

It's probably a good idea to get to the parking lot early since it is pretty small. It only fits about 8-10 cars and when we got there we had to park on the side (it wasn't an actual spot). Also, there is no bathroom at the trailhead so be sure to go somewhere beforehand. 

The trail is across the street and starts out with the below sign at the start. Below is also a map of our route. I highlighted our route in yellow and we started at the 2nd parking lot (P on the map) and from the highlighter we went in the counter clockwise direction following the stars all the way to Osio Rock, then back tracked to the R (red markers) where it says Torne. 

 

I really liked the terrain on this trail. We started out in the woods and it climbed up a bit right from the start. We were to follow the blue markers up the trail.

Rocks like these made it fun for the kiddos, especially my 5 year old. He loves rocks!

My favorite parts of the trail were whenever we hit the rock slabs and it opened up. It made the trail more exciting and I like how the terrain is different from just a regular dirt trail. The pic below is from one of the earlier view points. 

Lots of cool cairns on the trail. I think at one point, my 5 year old even added a few more rocks to one. 

When we got to one of the larger open viewpoints we stopped for lunch.

Spotted a couch, great for relaxing!

Also spotted a toad close to the trail!

We then continued on to Osio Rock. After a while we came to this sign and decided to follow it, especially since it said it was easier. Easier means better for the kiddos. :)

At about the 1 mile mark, we pass the start of the red (Torne) trail. If you look closely below on one of the trees on the left side you will see three red markers on a tree. That's for the route we took back. To get to Osio Rock, we continued following the blue markers. 

Heading up as we are almost there!

The views at Osio Rock are awesome!! 360 degree view of the Wanaque Reservoir, NYC skyline, and the Ramapos. 

Definitely an awesome hike and a must do if you are in the NJ area!! The hike is great for kids. Our 5 year old had no problem, however our 3 year old still enjoys the Deuter backpack. He did do most of the hike up till we stopped for lunch. The hike is about 2.5 miles round trip, so a nice short distance and makes it great for family a family hike.