Basecamp: Mohican Outdoor Center
- Appalachian Trail winter hike and snowshoe picks
- Explore the outdoors while learning new winter skills: join "Weekend Getaways"
- Cross-country ski at Blue Mountain Lakes
- Hit the slopes: Ski Shawnee Mt.
- Spend a night outdoors: winter backpacking and camping
- Grab your ice ax and crampons: ice climbing in the Delaware Water Gap
Located in the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Mohican Outdoor Center is a great do-it-yourself destination for exploring this jewel of wilderness outside the urban areas of New York and New Jersey.
A trail network that connects with the Appalachian Trail only a quarter mile away makes this an ideal basecamp for winter hiking and snowshoeing loops. For additional ideas, check out AMC's
Winter Guide.
1. Appalachian Trail winter hike and snowshoe picks
Mohican is an ideal jumping-off point for a number of Appalachian Trail loop hikes—or snowshoe excursions when the snow is flying.
For an easier, family-friendly hike/snowshoe past local waterfalls down to the Delaware River, take the Coppermine Trail off of the AT. Go two miles past the Coppermine Falls and down to the river, where you can see the remains of abandoned mines that date back to the eighteenth century. The trek is about four miles round-trip.
For a more difficult hike, stay on the AT going south along the Kittatinny Ridge until you get to the famed Raccoon Ridge, a peak in the Kittatinny Mountains with outstanding views of the New Jersey Highlands to the east and the Delaware River and Pocono Mountains to the west. The round-trip is about 5.8 miles.
For those hiking north on the AT, take the 5.8-mile loop trail out past Catfish Fire Tower and make the trip back to Mohican on the Rattlesnake Swamp Trail, passing by Catfish Pond. Or take the shorter 2.9-mile loop, if you've got less time.
2. Explore the outdoors while learning new winter skills: "Mohican Weekend Getaways"
Check out volunteer-led "Weekend Getaways" at Mohican Outdoor Center. Themes planned for this winter include cross-country skiing, mind, body, and spiritual renewal, and more.
3. Cross-country ski and snowshoe at Blue Mountain Trails
Only a twenty-minute drive from Mohican, Blue Mountain Trails offers 10 miles of wide, well-marked trails popular with beginner-to-intermediate cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Other options for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing include the Paulinskill Rails-to-Trails path in Blairstown, NJ, Slateford Farmhouse at the south end of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the McDade Recreational Trail, which follows the Delaware River.
4. Hit the slopes: Ski Shawnee Mt.
Also in proximity to Mohican is the Shawnee Mt. Ski Resort in the eastern Pocono Mountains. A great slope for beginner-to-intermediate skiers and snowboarders, Shawnee has downhill slopes and trails, a snow tubing park, and a terrain park and half-pipe.
5. Spend a night outdoors: winter backpacking and camping
Take a moderate hike or snowshoe on the Appalachian Trail and choose a site to set up camp. The next day, head out on the Kaiser Road Trail for views of Yards Creek Reservoir, and then connect up with the Coppermine Trail for a 4.5-mile loop back to Mohican. Or, opt for the longer 7.5-mile loop past the Coppermine Falls.
6. Grab your ice ax and crampons: ice climbing in the Delaware Water Gap
With over 200 rock-climbing routes and more than 20 ice climbs, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is an ideal training ground for novices, plus it's got its share of more challenging climbs for experienced climbing buffs. Climbers flock to the Kittatinny Mountains and the cliffs of Mt. Tammany, waterfalls in the Dingmans Falls area, Point of Gap Overlook on Route 611 in Pennsylvania, and Rick’s Rocks on Route 602 at the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey.
