New Jersey Wolf Preserve & Campground

[indyfabz]

While on a day ride that included some of ACA's Atlantic Coast Route in the area of Delaware Water Gap, PA and the National Recreation Area of the same name I came across a neat place that you might want to visit on a side trip:

http://lakotawolf.com/

Who'd have thunk it in NJ?

To get there...A hundred or so feet north of the gas station on Rte. 611 in Portland, PA, which is a about 4 miles south of Delaware Water Gap, PA, there is pedestrian bridge to Columbia on the NJ side of the river. The wolf preserve is about 5.5 mile from there. Here is a map:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/columbia-lakota

While on your way, if you make the right on Station Rd. from SR 94 and travel down it a short distance will see the Paulinskill Viaduct. When complteted in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structre in the world. It used to carry DL&W's Lackawanna Cutoff, but it has not seen a train since about '79. New Jersey Transit has long range plans to reactivate the line all the way to Scranton. PA.

Enjoy.

[JayH]

The Lakota Wolf Preserve is a great place!  If you are a hiker, you can take the red trail up Mt Tammany from the trailhead and hike up to
the ridge right above the Wolf Preserve and howl.  The Wolves will howl back if you're good/loud enough!!! I've done it before when I was in NJ.

Jay

[indyfabz]

Finally made it to this place last week during a 3-day trip from Port Jervis, NY to Philly. Took a detour off the ACA Atlantic Coast route from Millbrook Village in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The campground (Camp Taylor) is somewhat rustic, but the bathroom and shower facilities were clean and pretty well maintained, and there is a lot of shade. On the way there you pass though Blairstown, which has a lot of services, including restaurants, a large grocery store, pharmacy and liquor store. NJ 94 was somewhat busy in places on a Tuesday afternoon, but there is a very good shoulder the entire way. Bears in camp are not uncommon. One had come into camp the night before I was there. There is no bear box, but I was allowed to store surplus food and such in the shower facility.

Took the tour of the preserve the next day. Before I did, I heard wolves howling earlier in the morning. In addition to the wolves, they have three rescued bobcats and two foxes. The tour guides were very informative and the animals are clearly well cared for. It was nice to see that the wolves are not kept in cages or small pens. They are kept in large, fenced, wooded areas that are measured in acres, not square yards.

My detour took me to the center of Columbia, NJ. From there, you can get back on the ACA route via the pedestrain bridge to Portland, PA. (Portland is the home town of the man who wrote the song "All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth.") Send me a PM if would like the exact route. Be forewarned that the climb out of Millbrook, while short (about 1.1 miles), is severe the entire way. The 2.5 or so mile climb up to Camp Taylor averages 3.6%, but there are two very steep sections, so it is more difficult than it looks on paper. When you descend back to NJ 94 you will be glad you came up the way you did, as the way down is even steeper. On the steepest part, I had the brakes fully depressed yet could not come to a complete stop.