Fall Foliage Hike up Mount Tammany

Welcome to another Travel Tuesday! The hike up Mount Tammany is pretty short in terms of distance, but it makes up for that with the elevation gain and (minor) rock scrambles!

You can approach this trail a number of ways–I’ve been up twice so far and took the Red Dot trail up and the Blue trail down. (This is the more challenging option–if you want an easier variation, you can go up and down the Blue trail instead!)

The amount of time it takes for the hike is highly variable, depending on how much time you dawdle up at the top. I was trying to take fall photos and discovering as usual just how difficult that can be when one does not have an instagram husband on hand, so I hung out at the top for a while longer than I meant to. I was surrounded by gorgeous views though, so I really can’t complain. :]

Fall Foliage Hike up Mount Tammany

Trailhead/Parking Address: N40 58.291 W75 07.531
Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 2-3 hours
Elevation: 1207 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Admission: Free
Parking: Free

Near the entrance of the parking lot, you’ll see a big brown sign likely covered in a bunch of stickers that should say “Mt Tammany Trail” and “Red Dot” somewhere on it.

The more challenging trail (Red Dot trail) will be marked with a red dot on a white background. It has a ~1200 foot elevation game over 1.5 miles and you’ll end up with a view overlooking the Delaware Water Gap, Mt. Minsi on the right, and Route 80.

About a half mile in, there’ll be a view of the summit over on the left, the Delaware River in the center, and Mt. Minsi (located in Pennsylvania) over to the right.

There’ll be a really rocky section after this that’s pretty easy to follow, but just make sure you’re still following the red dots (some will be on the trees on the sides and others will be painted right on the rocks!), as the rock scrambling may sometimes lead you astray.

Up at the top, you’ll be able to see a great view of the Delaware Water Gap as well as Mt. Minsi. If you venture down the rocks a bit, there are some flatter areas where you can take a break, eat lunch, and take photos.

This is pretty much the end of the Red Dot trail, so if you’d like to not retrace your steps, you’ll want to start following the Blue Dot trail!

It’s a pretty straightforward path all the way down, and there’ll be two pretty mini waterfalls to your right when you pass a bridge and keep going. I saw people dipping/wading in the pond the first time I went, but it was pretty chilly when I went again (late October).

There’s a hiker shuttle that goes to the Dunnfield Creek lot + Kittatinny Visitors Center on weekends + holidays from around Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. It comes every 30 minutes from 10 am – 5:30 pm from the Park and Ride in PA and costs $1/person.

It’s super crowded here on the weekends. The first time I went, we got a later start in the day and got there at almost noon-ish on a Saturday–we barely found a parking spot (we took the last one!) and definitely didn’t have the trail to ourselves but we had fun anyway!

• Have you ever been to Mount Tammany?
• Have you been on any fall hikes lately?
• Do the leaves change color where you are? If so, what’s your favorite place to visit to check em’ out?