Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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Mohican Outdoor Center Area Trails Home Page

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Length:  2.25 miles, one way
Time: 1.5 hours (one way)
Difficulty: Moderate

The Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is an out-and-back trail that runs between Old Mine Road near Turtle Beach on its western end and the Appalachian Trail near the Mohican Outdoor Center on its eastern end. If starting from Old Mine Road, the hike is uphill nearly all the way, and of course downhill all the way if starting from the Appalachian Trail. However, the hike is only moderate in difficulty, with grades on the western half of the trail averaging around 15% (the start of strenuous hiking) and 7% on the eastern half, which is not even considered moderate in difficulty.

Nobody in their right mind is going to hike only the Coppermine Trail. The more sensible approach is to make a loop that utilizes the Appalachian Trail and part of the Kaiser Trail, a hike of about 6.5 miles. The general trajectory of the loop hike is uphill on the Coppermine Trail, level along the Appalachian Trail, and downhill on the Kaiser Trail, which is similar to the Coppermine Trail in difficulty. This is what I did, but this report only covers the Coppermine Trail. See the Kaiser Trail and Appalachian Trail: Coppermine to Kaiser Trails reports for information on those hikes.

Map of trails near the Mohican Outdoor Center at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

I started the hike uphill from Old Mine Road, one of the oldest roads in the United States. Rumor has it that it was built in the mid-1600s when the area was still the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. However, there are no records of any such road, or even mining in the area, until the mid-1700s. Regardless, the road ran from Pahaquarry (now Hardwick Township) to the Hudson River in Esopus, New York (now Kingston) roughly 100 miles away. The Coppermine Trail has its own parking lot on Old Mine Road, and there is a portable toilet available. The trail itself on the other side of the road.

Start of the Coppermine Trail at Old Mine Road in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The route of the Coppermine Trail is marked with red blazes. These are paint splotches on trees or rocks that serve as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. The blazes come in handy because not far from the start is a fork in the trail and no directional signage pointing out the correct way to proceed. In fact, it’s not even on the park map. There are two red blazes on the tree at the fork that stairstep to the right. A double blaze indicates a turn, and the direction of the stairsteps indicates which way to turn, so in this case stay to the right. A left is a .2-mile side trail (.4 mile round trip) to an actual mine shaft, which is sealed. I didn’t hike it, but my buddy did. He’s the one who told me about what is at the end.

Red blazes mark the route of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Just a few minutes beyond the fork is the ruins of the Pahaquarry Copper Mine processing mill. The earliest records of copper mining in the area are from the mid-1700s. The building ruins along the trail are from a mining operation that began in the first decade of the 1900s. The processing mill was constructed around 1910. The mining effort was unsuccessful, and the mine closed in 1913. The Boy Scouts of American took over the area in 1925 and ran a camp, Camp Pahaquarry, until 1970. Some of the old mining buildings were part of the camp.

Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area passes the ruins of the Pahaquarry Copper Mine processing mill

Ruins of the Pahaquarry Copper Mine processing mill along the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

As mentioned, the first half of the hike on the western side of the Coppermine Trail is up a fairly steep hill. The climb is actually broken into three sections with short, level areas in between. The first hill, which is a steady .3-mile long climb, has a grade of 14%. It is a wide trail, most likely a former road, and many sections of it are full of what I call rubble rocks. It’s like walking through a bombed-out building.

Steep climb at the start of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Other than the climb and the rocks, the hike is quite enjoyable. The forest in the area is the type I really like: a tall canopy with very little vegetation and other clutter on the ground.

Forest surrounding the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

About a tenth of a mile from the top of the first hill is an intersection with a connector that leads over to the Kaiser Trail. This is a .4-mile trail that runs steeply uphill for a quarter mile (average grade of 23%) and then levels out for the rest of the way to the Kaiser Trail. It is without a doubt the steepest hill on the entire loop hike. If hiking in the clockwise direction as I was, you will use this connector to get back to the Coppermine Trail from the Kaiser Trail—of course heading downhill—and then proceed to Old Mine Road from here. Stay straight to continue on the Coppermine Trail.

Not far beyond the intersection, the Coppermine Trail begins following along a ridge. Below is a sizeable creek with cascades of rushing water, though I have no idea what it is called.

Coppermine Trail follows a ridge high above a creek, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Once on the level terrain at the top of the first hill, there is a very short side trail that leads to a sealed mine shaft. You must be paying attention, otherwise you are liable to walk right on by it.

Sealed mineshaft along the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

At .4 mile into the hike, still on the level area between the first and second hill, is a bridge over the creek at the very top of where the cascades start. It had been raining hard the day before I did the hike, so there was plenty of water in the creek. This is the best place on the hike to get a photo of the cascades.

Bridge on the Coppermine Trail spans a sizable creek full of cascading water, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Cascade of water less than a half mile from Old Mine Road on the Coppermine Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The second hill starts around the half-mile mark on the hike and continues for another .3 mile. This is the steepest of the three hills with an average grade of 18%, which is certainly in the strenuous category. There is a section of what I call extreme rocks at the start of the hill, but this doesn’t last long.

Second steep hill on the hike up the Coppermine Trail from Old Mine Road in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Extremely rocky terrain plagues sections of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

At .75 mile into the hike, which is at the top of the second hill, is another cascade. The trail is pretty far away, so you never get a good view like you do on the previous bridge. A tenth of a mile later is a short side trail to a third cascade, but there is no decent view here either due to excessive vegetation along the trail.

Third cascade on the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The third climb, which lasts less than .2 mile, has an average grade of only 11%. At the top, 1.1 mile from the start, is a T-intersection. To the right is another connector to the Kaiser Trail. Take this if you want to make a shorter loop hike. The connector is a little less than .2 mile long and covers fairly level terrain. However, there are three creeks that you must cross on stepping stones, so your shoes might get wet if the water is high. Take a left to remain on the Coppermine Trail.

The Coppermine Trail intersects with a second connector to the Kaiser Trail a mile into the hike, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

One of three creek crossings on the upper connector between the Coppermine and Kaiser trails, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Kaiser Trail connector isn’t the only trail with creek crossings. Less than a minute from the intersection is the first of two crossings on the Coppermine Trail. Stepping stones are used on the first crossing, and a minute later the trail crosses via a log bridge.

First creek crossing on the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Log bridge over a creek on the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The next three quarters of a mile is uphill, but other than a couple short-but-steep climbs, the ascent is minimal and the trail is easy to hike. However, there are still a lot of rocks on short stretches of the trail. One minute the surface is smooth, the next minute it’s like walking on the bottom of a creek bed.

Smooth terrain on the upper half of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Extreme rocky terrain on the upper half of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

There is another creek crossing, and since I had my eyes at my feet so that I didn’t step wrong on a rock and twist my ankle, I saw an orange salamander. This is an eastern newt, and I had seen and photographed another one on the Conashaugh View Trail South, so they seem to be common in the park.

Eastern newt

The last quarter mile of the Coppermine Trail before it ends at the Appalachian Trail is downhill, the only downhill section on the hike. The trail is narrow and continues to be plagued by rocky terrain. A short segment was actually underwater, but it had been raining heavily the day before. There were no stepping stones, so I just had to trudge through it.

Submerged section on the upper half of the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Coppermine Trail dead ends into the Appalachian Trail after 2.25 miles. If you take a left, you will come to the road that leads to the Mohican Outdoor Center where there are restrooms and food service from May 1st through the end of August. You’ll be hiking north on the Appalachian Trail in that direction. To get to the Kaiser Trail, take a right. There is no defined trail at the intersection, as the place is nothing more than an open area with a bunch of rocks. I saw one white blaze on a tree (the Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes) but I couldn’t see a second one. There is a large pile of rocks within eyesight beyond the one blaze, so head in that direction and you’ll eventually see a second blaze and a more defined trail.

Rocky area at the intersection of the Coppermine and Appalachian trails in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Look for white blazes to find the route of the Appalachian Trail at the intersection with the Coppermine Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

See the Appalachian Trail: Coppermine to Kaiser Trails report for information on the next leg of the loop hike. This is a great segment of the Appalachian Trail with some nice views, but the rocks are extreme for most of the way.

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