Hemlock Falls : Family Hike in New Jersey

At the end of 2021, the kids and I went hiking to Hemlock Falls which is located in the South Mountain Reservation of Northern New Jersey. We’ve been on a real waterfall kick lately. The kids keep asking for them and having the motivation of finding a waterfall has made hiking with kids easier lately. Giving them something to look forward to keeps them moving!

South Mountain Reservation

South Mountain Reservation is a 2,112 acre nature preserve New Jersey has several beautiful areas. Hemlock falls is a 25-foot waterfall that is an easy hike to do with kids! There are several different parking lots so you can make this hike longer if you want. We parked close to the falls since it was the second hike we had done that day (the first being the fairy trail that I’ll share about later).

The Hike

There is a parking lot on the side of route 510 in the South Mountain Reservation which is where we parked. From there, you follow the carriage road to a large sign (that also has a map) and turn left. These sections are marked with yellow blazes. Very quickly, you will come up on a bridge. Just past the bridge, you see the first waterfall on this hike, Hobble Falls.

My oldest saw someone walk across the top of the waterfall and so he insisted we find a way up to do the same. There is an obvious trail that takes you up to the top and so he got his wish!

After our walk across the top of the falls, we continued along the yellow blazed trail until we got to Hemlock Falls.

Hemlock Falls

We played here for quite a while. The falls are beautiful and since we were there in the early winter, it wasn’t crowded at all. I am a big fan of hiking in the “off seasons” to these popular destinations to avoid the crowds. While the kids played around at Hemlock Falls, I took a series of photos.

Extending the Hike with Kids

You get to your destination very quick with this hike. My kids would have been perfectly happy playing at Hemlock Falls and then hiking back to the car. I spotted a staircase off to the left and wanted to know where it went. When we went up the stairs, we went off the yellow blazed trail and followed the red blazes.

We got to see Hemlock Falls from above as we walked along the upper ridge. I knew we would have to cross back across the stream that feeds into Hemlock Falls, but I didn’t realize just how beautiful that crossing would be. We ended up playing here for a while as well.

You can then follow the red blazes in a loop back across the first bridge and back to the yellow blazed carriage road by Hobble Falls.

Why hike to Hemlock Falls with kids?

My favorite part about this hike was how many families we saw. It is a clearly a popular hike for families and I could see why. There are tons of interconnecting trails so you can make it a short hike or a longer one. This also increased the chances for kids to explore. The bridges and waterfalls were a big hit with my boys and they have asked several times to do back!