Tri-Municipal Trail Link System Almost Complete

From Georgia to Maine.

That's the Tri-Municipal Trails Committee's goal: to connect Hopatcong's trails—along with those of Byram and Stanhope—to existing dirt paths extending up and down the East Coast.

But that will take a while. For now, the committee's just happy to create the Tri-Community Trail Link System, combining the trails of Hopatcong, Byram and Stanhope and allowing interested locals and hiking enthusiasts to navigate through the towns without touching road.

"It's physically quite demanding," said Hopatcong resident Malcolm Piester, one the committee's leaders. "But it's great for anybody who likes to walk in the woods and set your pace. I think people will enjoy it for years to come."

Byram's historic single-lane bridge over the Lackawanna Cut-off on Sparta-Stanhope Road will serve as the meeting point for the trails. The Tri-Community Trail Link System will also include Byram's Mansfield Bike Path, Hopatcong's Indian Trails and Stanhope's walkways.

Here's how the trail's constructed: The Mansfield Bike Bath, ending at Stanhope's border, links Lenape Valley High School and Valley Road School, which then leads to the Sussex County Library, over the Hopatcong Preserve and through Durban Avenue School and Hopatcong High School.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is Sept. 12 at the single-lane bridge at 1 p.m. A lot of time and effort went into securing that date.

Less than a year ago, the Tri-Municipal Trails Committee received an Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions grant for about $9,000 to be used for local trail work. Hopatcong, Byram and Stanhope governments each agreed to match 50 percent of the grant, giving the committee the money it needed to get things started.

Most of the grant went toward maps and a trail consultant. The manpower came in the form of more than 20 volunteers who helped blaze and map the trails, according to Adam Rosenberg, a committee member.

"Once we got the green light, we were just about hitting the ground running and doing what we needed to do," Rosenberg said.

He credited the committee's success to the unpaid workers.

"You've got to have a team," he said. "There's no way you could clear three miles of trails without a lot of bodies."

Rosenberg said some trails need blazing, signage — the works. But he expects the Sept. 12 date to hold firm.

"Since we hit the start button, everything has gone into place," he said.

The trails aren't your run-of-the-mill, to-grandmother's-house-we-go paths. They were made with hikers in mind.

Rosenberg has been involved in trail work for five years, ever since meeting a Hudson Farms trail supervisor. He made sure the trails were hikers-only, making the paths narrow and up steep hills and around short corners, discouraging all-terrain vehicle owners.

"It follows ridge lines. You climb up cliffs. You're part mountain goat," said Piester, describing the trails.

Piester, who said the trails would be cleaned and maintained by hikers, hopes the new trail connections encourage the towns' youth to hike.

"Apparently, there's a very select group of people who enjoy walking in the woods," he said. "I think we have a generation of people who are couch potatoes."

Janice Hunt has been involved with the group for a while.

"It's just exhilarating," she said. "I don't know what else to say about being part of something that is so beneficial to the towns."