Crater Lake in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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Blue Mountain Lake Area Trails Home Page

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Length:  1.6-mile loop
Time:  1 hour
Difficulty: Mainly easy with a few steep hills

The best way to access the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is from the Crater Lake Parking Lot at the end of Skyline Drive. This is on the New Jersey side of the park a few miles south of Walpack Center. If you are using Google Maps for driving directions, search “Crater Lake Walpack Township.” Be aware that Skyline Drive is closed from Friday evenings at 8 PM until Mondays at noon starting in late May and continuing through the first weekend in October. I have no idea why it is closed on weekends when most people would want to go hiking, but that’s the situation.

Corrected trail map for the Blue Mountain Lake area of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (click to enlarge)

A short path from the parking lot leads to Crater Lake and a few picnic tables along the shore, so if all you want to do is see the lake, there is no need to hike the trail. In fact, if you are looking for a scenic walk around the lake, you are wasting your time on the Crater Lake Trail. Despite its name, it never goes anywhere near the water.

Crater Lake in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

If you are navigating with the trail map in the Guide to the Gap, the free publication given out by the National Park Service, you are bound to get confused due to the map’s lack of details and inaccuracies. Most hiking apps for a phone have better maps, though what shows up in the way of actual trails varies depending on the app. I use a dedicated GPS unit and a hiking app on my phone, and neither shows the same trails, but both are far better than the map in the brochure.

Being a loop, there are two ways to hike around Crater Lake. To hike in the clockwise direction, start at the information sign at the path that leads to the lake. There are a bunch of boulders next to it. The hiking trail is to the left of the sign.

Clockwise-bound trailhead for the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

To hike around in the counterclockwise direction, start at the gated dirt road across from the restroom building. This is the way I went around, and this report is written from that perspective. (FYI: If your destination is Hemlock Pond, this is the quickest way to get there.)

Counterclockwise-bound trailhead for the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The route of the Crater Lake Trail is marked with orange blazes. These are paint splotches on trees that serve as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. They come in handy on the trails in this area due to the numerous unmarked and unmapped intersections.

The first tenth of a mile around Crater Lake is on the dirt road. This stretch consists of hiking up and over a fairly steep hill, plus there is a lot of loose gravel on the road. This doesn’t mean much when hiking uphill, but on the downhill side, be aware that it is often like walking on marbles, and it is easy to slip.

Dirt road segment at the start of the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

After a tenth of a mile, there is an unmarked intersection and no directional signage to guide you. The road continues to the right and heads towards the Buttermilk Falls Trail, paralleling the Appalachian Trail. I had hiked from Buttermilk Falls to the Crater Lake Parking Lot, and this road was blocked off on the Buttermilk Falls end. It shows up on all hiking apps, but it has been deleted from the National Park Service map, so obviously the government doesn’t want you going that way—perhaps there is a secret military base down there. Anyway, take a left at the fork onto the narrower hiking trail to remain on the Crater Lake Trail.

Stay left to remain on the Crater Lake Trail when it splits from the dirt road, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Typical terrain on the northeast side of the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The narrow trail soon widens, and tire tracks worn into the ground indicate that it was once a road. This is a nice section of trail, though it does head uphill at a moderate pace.

Wide section of trail on the northeast side of the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Just past the section of trail lined with rocks (photo above) is another unmarked intersection and no indication of which way to go. There are two orange blazes that stairstep to the right on a tree in the middle of the intersection. Two blazes indicate a turn, and the direction of the stairsteps indicates which way to turn. Thus, stay to the right and continue up the hill to remain on the Crater Lake Trail.

Second unmarked intersection on the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

A tenth of a mile past the last intersection, about .4 mile from the parking lot, is a triangular intersection with a pile of boulders in the middle. Stay to the left to continue on the Crater Lake Trail, which for the next quarter mile is also the Appalachian Trail. A right is the connector trail that leads to the Hemlock Pond Trail.

Intersection with the Crater Lake and Appalachian trails, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

If you have never set foot on the Appalachian Trail, you can now brag to your friends that you have hiked part of it. This section of the trail covers relatively level terrain and has a surface that is largely free of rocks and roots. It is very easy to hike.

Section of the Appalachian Trail shared by the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The route of the Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes, so the shared section with the Crater Lake Trail has white and orange blazes.

Orange and white blazes mark the section of trail shared by the Appalachian and Crater Lake trails, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Appalachian Trail splits off to the right from the Crater Lake Trail at a rock slab that you cannot miss (white blazes on the rock indicate the turn). It then curves back to the left and crosses the Crater Lake Trail another hundred yards ahead. If you want to hike an extra hundred yards on the AT, go to the right, otherwise just stay straight on the Crater Lake Trail. The split comes a quarter mile from the triangular intersection.

Appalachian Trail splits from the Crater Lake Trail at a slab of rock, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Crater Lake Trail continues southwest in the opposite direction of the lake and forms a long, finger-shaped bulge. It remains a wide and smooth trail, but it does head downhill. In fact, when it gets to the far end of the bulge and begins curving back towards the lake, there is a very short-but-steep 200-foot segment with an average grade of 23% (15% is where strenuous starts).

Once around the curve and heading back towards the lake, there is an interesting area full of black rocks. I have no idea what this is, but one of my hiking apps shows a small pond in this area (it shows up on satellite maps as well). Perhaps the pond was dry when I did the hike and I was now looking at the bottom. The area may well be filled with water when you do the hike.

Black rocks along the southwestern section of the Crater Lake Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Crater Lake Trail eventually crosses paths with the Appalachian Trail once again. You’ll see the white blazes on the trees at the intersection. You’ll also see a number of unofficial side trails that branch off into the woods on the left, most likely cut-throughs to the shore of Crater Lake.

The Crater Lake Trail intersects a second time with the Appalachian Trail southwest of the lake, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Ironically, the only view of a lake you get on the Crater Lake Trail is of Lake Success, a smaller lake to the south. It looks like a cesspool, and when I visited there was a beaver dam in the middle. I could see all the paths they had made in the water through the vegetation growing on the surface. There was even a tree along the shore—when I did the hike—that had been chewed on by beavers. The lake is just a tenth of a mile from the parking lot, so if you want to visit in hopes of seeing beavers, just start at the clockwise-bound trailhead for the Crater Lake Trail.

Lake Success along the Crater Lake Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Beaver dam on Lake Success in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Tree chewed on by beavers

After all that hiking, you end up back at the parking lot without ever having seen Crater Lake. That sucks. I suppose the moral to the story is that you should only hike the Crater Lake Trail if you want exercise. As a scenic lake trail, it is a complete bust.

End of the Crater Lake Trail back at the parking lot, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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