Tenafly Nature Center / Flat Brook Preserve

Jersey Palisades
Bergen Co.,
New Jersey

Hiking Trails:
Yellow Trail: Yellow blaze
Red Trail: Red blaze
Purple Trail: Purple blaze
Allison Trail: Yellow blaze
Haring Rock Trail: Orange blaze
Seeley Trail: Yellow/Orange blaze
Little Chism Trail: Red blaze
Bischoff Trail: White/Red blaze
De Filippi Trail: White/Red blaze

Total Time: 2:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 6.2 Miles

Pros: Quiet trails, Nice trail network, well marked trail
Cons: No views or good points of interest, sound of busy road/highway, small part with walk alongside busy road
Hike Type: Loop
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/Ea7goMAkBk12crYm9

I often hike in the Palisades in November, and being further south and closer to the city, I get a last lick of foliage for the fall season. I decided to hike this area, which is mostly flat, on the elevated plateau of the Palisades at Tenafly. The weather was gray, with a morning rain before my hike. Conditions were very cold and cloudy for most of the hike, though the sun came out towards the end.

I had never been to Tenafly Nature Center before. I did like the large network of trails in the area, which were very well marked with maps at the beginning of every trail. I ended up hiking most of the trails in the area. 

I parked at the main parking area on Hudson Ave, and walked past the nature center (which was closed for a boy scout visit) and I took the Yellow Trail to Pfisters Pond. I then took the Red Trail to the Purple Trail, to the Purple blaze, with no remarkable scenery. It was, however, very quiet, with very few people encountered except at the beginning of the hike. I then took the Allison Trail to the Haring Rock Trail, which has a large erratic boulder at the end of the trail. I took this to the Little Chism Trail, which walks alongside some scenic streams, and then goes alongside Route 9W. (They should really reroute this back into the forest.)

I took a detour to the Seeley Trail, out and back. I then returned to the Little Chism Trail, walking past the breached dam. I then crossed the dirt road and took the Bischoff Trail to the De Filippi Trail, which goes on the other side of Pfisters Pond along a boardwalk. I then took this to the dirt road back to my car.

Map of the Route

Sign at the Beginning 

Tenafly Nature Center Entrance

Bird Aviary - Red Tailed Hawk

Owl

Boardwalk on Pfisters Pond

Pfisters Pond

Pfisters Pond Boardwalk

Haring Rock

Flat Brook

Dam at the Former Iodine Lake

Stream at the Breached Dam

Boardwalk on the De Filippi Trail at Pfisters Pond