Four Birds Trail

Four Birds Trail is a long-distance, hard/rugged hike in New Jersey’s Highlands managed in coordination with the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference. It runs through the Farny Highlands, Farny State Park, and Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area, crossing Morris and Passaic counties along a single named route rather than a simple loop.

The route is about 19.4 miles one-way, with roughly 2,850 feet of elevation gain. Because of that scale and the rugged terrain, most hikers break it into shorter sections instead of doing the full point-to-point walk in one day.

For a northern option, the Farny State Park section is commonly hiked as an out-and-back to Timber Brook Lake (about 7.2 miles round trip for that turnaround). Early on you start with a gentle uphill, then the character shifts toward rougher Highlands terrain as you continue toward the lake area.

On the northern section, the route stays marked with white blazes. Navigation can still be tricky—roads and side paths can look tempting when visibility drops (for example, after leaf fall), and there are occasional non-obvious turns off a woods road that require staying strict to the blaze line.

A known reroute affects this area: a segment near Timberbrook Pond was rerouted to bypass a dam. If you’re building your own plan for the north section, expect the trail to deviate around that obstacle rather than passing directly through the dam area.

For the southern portion, many hikers use the Wildcat Ridge & Hawk Watch area as a shorter, more popular out-and-back/loop-style hike (about 5.6 miles for that commonly used segment). This section ties into the Hawk Watch area and includes the Graffiti Cliffs as part of the hike’s named highlights.

More information: 10 Best Things to Do in South Jersey for Local Experiences, Four Birds Trail (North) | njHiking.com, Four Birds Trail – North Section | njHiking.com