Red Loop (Tourne County Park)

Red Loop (Tourne County Park)

Distance: 3.71 miles
Elevation: 423 feet

Time: 1 hour, 12 minutes
Hike Type: Loop
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge

The Hike

Hiking in November is hard! Weekday hikes are basically out of the question now with the sun setting so early, and I miss the woods! I was able to get down to New Jersey for pre-Thanksgiving (I spend the actual holiday at my home in Boston in my peaceful solice), so naturally I headed over to the Tourne for a quick, chilly morning hike. I parked on the Denville side of the park and planned to do the full red loop (I have a historic habit of saying I'm going to do this and then get lazy halfway through). It a was in the low 40s and breezy, I crossed the entrance road, and started my journey.

New Jersey is about 90% into stick season, with a few residual browns and yellows holding on for dear life. I was immediately greeted with the reminder of how rocky the trails is, especially while covered in leaves. I was charged at by a "don't worry he's friendly" dog. A bumpy start, literally and figuratively!

This first part of the trail goes over three bumps, which feels more like two. The trail over the third bump has been rerouted in recent years, providing new switchbacks to ease the grade, likely for the influx of new mountain bikers. Somewhere around the bumps I noticed new Orange-Dot blazes? I couldn't figure out if it was a newly-cut trail or if they re-signed the Purple Trail. The most recent map online is from September 2023 and does not show this update... a mystery for now!

I only had my winter boots in the car so by the time I hit the one-mile mark my feet were COOKING. I also couldn't help but notice that I was feeling very low-energy... likely due to the wine my mother fed me for dinner last night. I continued to amble on, following the Red Trail around the eastern side of Birchwood Lake, where two swans and a thousand Canadian Geese were swimming about. There was a crew of 10 mountain bikers hanging out where the Red Trail leaves the Birchwood Loop - I was grateful that they were not traveling in my direction. They also had their own bluetooth speakers playing their music for all to hear. 

The southern side of the Red Loop appeared to be recently raked (again, likely for the mountain bikers), which was actually appreciated. I was able to see a nice seasonal view through the trees of the tannish-brown Rattlesnake Meadow and the top of the Tourne. I was truly delighted with how few people I came across during this hike, especially considering it was a Saturday. 

I started to get hungry for quiche (Mom said she was going to be making some) once I hit the official terminus of the trail at McCaffrey Lane. Here, I turned left, and then right onto the official beginning of the Red Trail, on the Wildflower Trail. Someday I'll actually hike here when its in bloom! 

Interestingly, the Red Trail blazes disappear after the Wildflower Trial, which is new. The Red Trail used to coincide with the Yellow Trail, which goes to the Top of the Tourne, and the Red Trail used to lead to the original Denville parking lot. Now, the Yellow Trail is the full loop and the spur to the Denville parking lot is Yellow-Dot... interesting! 

Back at the car, I did a quick change, and raced back to Mom's house for that quiche! If I were to do this full loop again, I would park at the Wildflower Trail trailhead to avoid doing an uphill at the end to the car.

Step-By-Step

- Park on Denville side of McCaffrey Lane. 

- Cross McCaffrey Lane, follow red blazes.

- Continue to follow red blazes until terminus on McCaffrey Lane.

- Turn left onto McCaffrey Lane. 

- Turn right onto Wildflower Trail/Red Trail.

- Exit Wildflower Trail, continue hike on Yellow Trial (formerly Yellow/Red Trail).

- At split, veer left to follow Yellow-Dot to car (formerly Red).

Map of the Tourne County Park (Outdated - Published Sep. 2023)

Photo Album