Wawayanda Shelter - NJ

[Former Admin]

Info, questions, comments, experiences (good or bad) regarding - Wawayanda Shelter

Past/Present hikers - what can future hikers expect here? Have any good stories or memories from here?

Future hikers - any questions?

[ez-does-it]

The Wawayanda Hilton as it is called another fairly new shelter but a small one.This shelter also has an out door privy,decent table to eat at for the night and very good spots for tenting out.You will have to walk down the A.T. and then a bue blaze conecting trail to the rangers office for your water and when the office is closed there is a maintenice bld.with a water faucet to get your water so you won't need to treat your water for the night.This shelter also has a bear box for storing your food for the night.

[jbwood5]

I stayed there on 5/6/04 and it was fine. Can't add much to the above, but the privy is nothing more then a toilet seat over a hole in the woods (there is no above ground enclosure). If you get to the park office when it is open, to get your water, they have inside, clean, flush toilets.

Just John

[Hammock Hanger]

The shelter is nice. Beaware that horseback riders often us the trail on the south side of the shelter. -- I had 2 women who were stopped on the trail with their horses, smoking and got pissed when I asked if they could move off to the side. -- Later they passed me and then one of the horses "butt" was directly in front of me. This made me nervouse as I was afraid he might kick. Then he decided to "dump". When they stopped for their next cigarette, I mentioned that the AT was a foot trail. I won't bother to print some of the foul comments they spewed! -- The shelter however was very nice. Sue/HH

[Minerva]

The walk to get water wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. You walk south 1/10 mile on the AT, turn right and follow a fairly level blue blazed trail 3/10th mile to the Maintenace Bldg at the state park entrance. This was the shortest 4/10 of a mile walk for water I've ever taken and the best part was I didn't have to walk half way back down the mtn to get it. The pay phone wasn't working at the ranger's office bldg. I was there on Tuesday night 6/8 and the mosquitos were out in full force. Tented it for a good night rest.
Cin

[Kerosene]

Stopped by this week after deciding to drive up from Montvale after a business meeting. The shelter was in good shape, although the bear box was broken (and I seem to recall that it was when I passed through over a year ago). There don't seem to be a lot of tent sites, but there is a nice open field less than a mile north and a level flat woods road a little ways beyond that.

A few SOBO thru-hikers had passed through in recent weeks.

[MarkTurtle]

The bear box is still broken--no lid. Had to hang my food bag. Didn't see any bears. Lots of dirt bike noise until it got dark then extremely load cicada noise until about midnight.

About a half mile SOBO there were barricades across the trail as it leaves the dirt Wawayanda Road and enters the woods saying "Trail Closed" with arrows pointing south down the road as an "alternate route". This was on 10/2/05. After taking the alternate route, which seemed to be a 2 mile detour, I found out from a weekend jogger who I met coming and going on the detour that the route was passable as he had just jogged across it. An old iron bridge was being re-decked with wood planks. The construction was essentially done, but the trail closed signs were still up in each direction. Fear of lawsuits, I guess. Compared to some other parts of the trail, such as the climb on the west side of Wawayanda Mt, a bridge-under-repair is relatively safe.

[Fireball]

Ate lunch at this shelter during a blustery day hike yesterday. Very nice shelter. During lunch two large tom turkeys ran past in a hurry, I think a hunter was calling them in but I never heard a shot.

Oh yeah....the bear box is fixed....

[Askus3]

Sam "the Pug" & I took a walk there today. Met a runner and saw a felllow walking his dog on the quiet woodland ramble that I took. I guess i missed Fireball by a day. New bear box and place nice & clean. Saw that Dan Chazin from the NY/NJ Trail Conference stopped by there over the weekend. I am out hiking on the AT in NJ & NY a good bit for the next two months on short rambles near my house. Then doing my annual section hike in Maine - 6/4 thru 6/12. Then I will start my trail angel activity to bring water and other goodies to Wildcat Shelter on a regular weekly basis thru Labor Day. So northbounders look for Sam the Pug & I starting in June.

[Pole Climber]

Good news I was there on 4/24/06. They have installed a new bear box.

[LIhikers]

I spent the night at the Wawayanda shelter on 1/14/07. The shelter was clean and in good shape. There's a picnic table around back, 2 "like new" bear boxes to the left and up a small hill, and an open air privey about 100 feet past the bear boxes. It rained for several days and the floor was dry so the roof is in good condition too. Also, room for a number of tents on each side of the shelter. Water is available from park buildings or on the AT from a stream not far south of the shelter blue blazed trail.

[rafe]

Spent a night there (alone) Sept. '06. No problems. It's just off the trail. I got water from the pond about 1/4 mile north (east) -- between shelter and the park HQ. It rained the night I was there. I used the bear box (it was fine) but took no notice of the picnic table or privy.

[robert granrath]

The Thru Hiker Handbook by Bob Mc Caw and Wingfoot have this shelter as a Right Hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO. I was up there last fall and I could swear it was a Left hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO.

Can anyone clear this up T]hanks

T BIRD

[rafe]

It's a right turn for a nobo. The shelter can't be more than 25 yards from the trail.

[BobS]

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.

[rafe]

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.

Something doesn't sound right with that report. I was there Sept. '06, heading SOBO. I remember walking past the park HQ, then this swamp, on the way to the shelter. HQ, swamp, shelter all to my left. Maybe I wasn't on the trail? It's been known to happen...

[Alligator]

Something doesn't sound right with that report. I was there Sept. '06, heading SOBO. I remember walking past the park HQ, then this swamp, on the way to the shelter. HQ, swamp, shelter all to my left. Maybe I wasn't on the trail? It's been known to happen...

Were you walking backwards again?

[Johnny Thunder]

It is indeed a left turn off the AT for a NOBO now. The NY-NJ Trail Conference finished the first part of a relo late last summer that moved the AT to the opposite side of the shelter - the shelter is now west of the AT.

When was the relo finished? I was there in July and the shelter was on the right-hand side of the trail. Didn't notice any signs of a relo either.

I know that in that specific area the trail travels East/West (almost perfectly so as it crosses Warwick rd) so this might add to some of the confusion.

[Panzer1]

The Thru Hiker Handbook by Bob Mc Caw and Wingfoot have this shelter as a Right Hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO. I was up there last fall and I could swear it was a Left hand turn off of the trail for a NOBO.
Can anyone clear this up T]hanks
T BIRD

I believe it is on the right hand side for a NOBO.

And the mosquito's are very bad there in the summer because of the pond that is there.

Panzer
ps if you were going NOBO and realized you just passed the shelter and then turned around, it would be on your left..

[rafe]

I know that in that specific area the trail travels East/West...

Yes, that's how I recall it from 2006, even without referring to the maps. So the shelter is south of the trail, though not by much.