Coventry Pond in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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Millbrook Village Area Trails Home Page

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Length:  .9 mile, one way (1.8 mile round trip)
Time:  1 hour, round trip
Difficulty:  Between easy and moderate

The Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located near Millbrook Village. It is an out-and-back trail that leads to a small pond. Park in the Millbrook Village Parking Lot and then walk south to NJ 602 / Millbrook-Flatbrook Road and take a left. This is the road that runs between the church and the old grist mill, crossing over Van Campen Brook, a small creek near the mill. The trailhead is a little farther up the road on the left. There is no sign identifying the trail, but it is the dirt road with a gate across it that keeps idiots from trying to drive on it. This is about two tenths of a mile from the parking lot.

Start of the Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Millbrook Village Hiking Trails map

While the trail was once a road, today much of it is washed out and / or collapsed into a gully. Even if the gate wasn’t up at the entrance, anyone driving a vehicle wouldn’t get very far.

Washed out section of the Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The trail crosses a small stream a couple of times. This is not Van Campen Brook, so I am assuming it is the creek that feeds into Coventry Pond. You must cross over on some rough-looking log bridges that can be a little wobbly, so be prepared. The trail in the area does not look like it is maintained. You may be thinking that you missed a turn somewhere, but this is the trail.

Log bridge over a small stream on the Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Once you cross the second bridge, you’ll be wondering where the trail went. Make a sharp left and you’ll soon be back on a very wide dirt road. From here on out the Coventry Pond Trail is easy to follow.

Typical terrain along the Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Most of the hike to Coventry Pond is uphill, though the ascent on the first .6 mile is so mild that you might not even notice it. However, when you get to the big curve at the far end of the trail, things get a little more difficult. You’ll notice the uptick immediately. The climb lasts for a third of a mile, and a third of this has a grade of 12%. Fifteen percent is where strenuous hiking begins, so this is definitely a moderate climb, perhaps a 3 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5. For comparison, the steepest hills up to this point have an average grade of 8%.

Typical terrain on the Coventry Pond Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Coventry Pond is at the top of the hill. One of my hiking apps shows a FISHING icon at the pond, but good luck to anyone who wants to go fishing here. First off, there’s not much room to move around. There is a path to the left, but it doesn’t get very far around the pond due to the fact that the shoreline is covered in thick brush. Second, accessing the water requires getting down a steep bank. There are easier places to go fishing. Perhaps bird watchers might find the hike to the pond worthwhile, but it doesn’t have much to offer most people.

Coventry Pond in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Short trail along the shore of Coventry Pond in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Typical shoreline of Coventry Pond in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Once done at the pond, head back the way you came. Total distance on the trail itself is 1.8 mile round trip, but you have a .4-mile walk, round trip, from the parking lot.

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