Dunnfield Creek Trail

The Dunnfield Creek Trail follows one of the most pristine stream corridors in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, ascending through a hemlock cathedral gorge alongside a tumbling mountain stream that drops over three distinct waterfalls before reaching its confluence with the Delaware River. The trail begins at the same Dunnfield Creek parking area used by Appalachian Trail hikers and immediately enters a dark hemlock ravine where 100-year-old trees create permanent shade that keeps the gorge cool even in midsummer heat. The first waterfall, a 15-foot cascade over fractured shale, appears at the 0.7-mile mark; two additional falls between 10 and 20 feet high appear farther upstream as the trail climbs alongside the creek through increasingly rocky terrain. The hemlock forest in the Dunnfield ravine represents one of the healthiest remaining stands in New Jersey, which has seen widespread hemlock mortality from the introduced woolly adelgid pest since the 1980s. Stream crossings are on stepping stones and may require wading during spring runoff. The upper gorge section narrows into a genuine slot with vertical walls before the trail opens into mixed hardwood forest near the ridge. Cool, clear pool formations throughout the gorge provide excellent habitat for brook trout, the native salmonid of New Jersey's highland streams.