Montville Serpentine Quarries at Turkey Mountain

Pyramid Mountain Preserve,
Morris County,
New Jersey

Hiking Trails:
Yellow Trail: Yellow blaze
Kinnelon Boonton Trail: White blaze
Green Trail: Green blaze
Blue Trail: Blue blaze
Red Dot Trail: Red blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.2 Miles

Pros: Historic mines
Cons: Views are not impressive

I had been to this area a few weeks earlier, and there were several trails i wanted to still explore. Further, there were several overgrown serpentine mines that I noticed the first time here that I wanted to further explore. 

I parked along the side of Boonton Ave. as the main Pyramid Mountain parking lot was already full, and took the Yellow Trail to the Kinnelon Boonton Trail, which climbs up the mountain. At the top there is a view, which seems to have become overgrown. I continued to the end of the trail, where it meets the yellow trail, and explored the large serpentine quarry at this point.

The quarry seems to be quite old, and is entirely overgrown, with the dumps almost completely covered. I walked through the main cut, observing the interesting rock formation, especially the serpentine outcrop at the northern end of the quarry. I then went back to the yellow trail, exploring the second quarry while approaching towards the power lines. I then crossed the power lines on the yellow trail, took the green trail up, past the old stone house foundation, and then took the blue trail to its end at the Kinnelon Boonton Trail. I continued along the White Trail back to the Kinnelon Boonton Trail, and then took the Red Dot trail to its end along the edge of the swamp, where there is an observatory of the swamp. I then turned around and took the Red Dot Trail back to the Yellow Trail, and then back to my car.

Map of the Route.
Central Jersey Highlands

Overgrown Trail on the Kinnelon Boonton Trail

Stream Along the Yellow Trail

Inside one of the Mines

Serpentine Outcrop in the Quarry

Large Stone Structure

Lake Valhalla from the View

At the View on the Green Trail

Swamp along the Red Dot Trail

Observatory at the Swamp to see the Wildlife