Donkeys Corner Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Millbrook Village Area Trails Home Page
Length: 1.9 mile (one way)
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
The Donkeys Corner Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area runs 1.9 mile between Millbrook Village and Blue Mountain Lakes Road (aka Flatbrookville-Stillwater Road). The only problem is that there is no parking on Blue Mountain Lakes Road, so if you start at Millbrook Village, you must hike back 1.9 mile unless you have somebody pick you up at the end…or you use a loophole.
Millbrook Village Hiking Trails map (click to enlarge)
Donkeys Corner Trail is nothing but the old Donkey Hollow Road (a sign near Millbrook Village actually identifies it as the Donkey Hollow Trail). It crosses Blue Mountain Lakes Road and continues on the other side, though the hiking portion of it is only between the road and Millbrook Village. Both trailheads at the road are blocked off by a gate to keep vehicles off the trail, and the only place to park is in front of the gates. The loophole is this: one gate has a DO NOT BLOCK ACCESS sign while the other does not. I’m pretty sure both gates are supposed to have the sign, but one of them fell off or was stolen and hasn’t been replaced (at least when I did the hike). Thus, if the National Park Service is too cheap or too lazy to replace it, and there’s nothing that says you can’t park in front of the gate, park in front of the gate. That’s what I did. I was hiking with a buddy, and we had another vehicle parked at Millbrook Village. It’s a 15-minute drive between the two trailheads.
If that seems to complicated, do the more sensible thing and skip the Donkeys Corner Trail altogether. There is simply no point to it unless you are dead set on hiking every trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Who else would set out to hike out-and-back between a random spot on a road where you shouldn’t even be parking and Millbrook Village? I could understand if the trail ran between the village and another place of interest, or if it was a loop that passed through pretty terrain. But there’s nothing here. It doesn’t even make sense as a horse trail.
As I said, I started the Donkeys Corner Trail at Blue Mountains Lake Road. The hiking trail is on the southside of the road, which when I did the hike was the side with the gate that still had the DO NOT BLOCK ACCESS sign. If that sign is missing when you do the hike, it’s the trail that starts uphill (the trail on the other side of the road heads slightly downhill).
Start of the Donkeys Corner Trail at Blue Mountain Lakes Road in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Donkeys Corner Trail heads uphill for about two tenths of a mile, and then it’s downhill all the way to Millbrook Village. The hills, however, are mild. The average grade on the uphill climb is just 8% (15% is where strenuous hiking begins). It’s not flat, but it’s not a cardio workout either. I’d rate it a 2 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult. The downhill sections have even less of a slope, and a mile and a quarter into the hike, the terrain is almost flat.
Typical terrain along the Donkeys Corner Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
As evidence that not many people bother to hike the trail, there were numerous trees down across it and plenty of sections overgrown with knee-high-tall grass, which is where ticks love to hang out (I didn’t get any on me during my mid-October hike). I also saw some briers, so you definitely should wear long pants on this hike.
Overgrown section of the Donkeys Corner Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Looking on the bright side, there are some very pretty segments of the Donkeys Corner Trail. At one point it runs though a deep gully, which is what happens when so many people, horses, wagons, and vehicles travel over a dirt road. They wear a ditch into the earth. If the entire trail was like this, it would be an enjoyable hike, though still pointless.
Picturesque section of the Donkeys Corner Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
At 1.1 mile into the hike, the Donkeys Corner Trail begins running along Van Campen Brook, though it is high up above it on a ridge. While you can hear the water rushing by below, you never get a good view of the creek.
View of Van Campen Brook from the Donkeys Corner Trail on the ridge high above the creek, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
For those in need of a break and perhaps a bite to eat, there are two picnic tables along the trail as well as a fire pit. And these aren’t crappy picnic tables either. How they ended up in the middle of nowhere is a mystery to me. They must have fallen off the back of a park Ranger’s truck on the way to deliver nice picnic tables to somewhere else in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Picnic table and firepit along the Donkeys Corner Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Donkeys Corner Trail gradually descends towards Millbrook Village, and by the time it gets about a quarter mile away, it’s running right along Van Campen Brook. At one point you could jump right in.
Southern end of the Donkeys Corner Trail runs along Van Campen Brook, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The area near the creek must get rather muddy at times, because there are spots where rocks have been dumped on the trail to shore things up. These spots are like walking on the bottom of a creek bed, and it’s easy to twist an ankle if you step wrong.
Rocks dumped in muddy spots along the Donkeys Corner Trail near Millbrook Village in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Just before the village, the Donkeys Corner Trail passes through some sort of work area where logs and other building materials are stacked along the path. It eventually comes out between the Cider Mill and Blacksmith Shop at Millbrook Village. The main parking lot is off to the right.
Logs and building materials piled along the Donkeys Corner Trail near Millbrook Village in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Donkeys Corner Trail starts / ends near Millbrook Village’s Cider Mill and Blacksmith Shop, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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Last updated on February 2, 2024
