• Best Hikes in NJ
  • Find a Hike
    • Search/Find a Hike
    • Hike Map
    • Most Popular Hikes
    • Best Kid-Friendly NJ Hikes
    • NJ Hikes
    • NY Hikes
    • John Muir Trail
      • Part 1: Reds Meadow to Yosemite Valley
      • Part 2: Duck Pass to Bishop Pass
      • Part 3: Bishop Pass to Mt. Whitney
    • Appalachian Trail
    • Other
      • Barataria Preserve
      • Coconino National Forest
      • Grand Canyon National Park
      • Great Smoky Mountains National Park
      • Inyo National Forest
      • John Muir Trail
      • Shenandoah National Park
      • Yellowstone National Park
      • Yosemite National Park
  • Tips & Essentials
    • Hiking for Beginners
    • Best NJ & NY Hiking Books & Resources
    • Best Hiking Apps
    • AllTrails vs GaiaGPA
    • Hiking Gear
    • Winter Hiking Tips
    • Pequannock (Newark) Watershed Permits
    • Trail Maintenance Gear
    • Leave No Trace
  • Contact
Take a Hike!
Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. -John Muir
Kid FriendlyNew JerseySouth Mountain Reservation

Fairy Trail – South Mountain Reservation

by Juan Melli October 20, 2021
by Juan Melli October 20, 2021 0 comment

Overview

A great way to get the little ones out and exploring nature, the Fairy Trail is an easy half mile path inhabited by fairies who have built homes along the trail. The rules help to introduce kids to the principles of Leave No Trace. 

More information:

  • Fairy Trail website (South Mountain Conservancy)
  • Facebook page
  • NY Times article
  • Readers’ Digest article
  • NJ.com article

Hike Length: 1.2 miles round trip, or turn around whenever the little ones get tired. Most of the fairy houses are located closer to the start of the trail and there are fewer as you go along.

Elevation Gain: minimal

Location: South Mountain Reservation, Millburn, Essex County, NJ

Fairy Trail Parking

Park at the Locust Grove parking lot in Millburn (across from the Millburn Library). Use 197 Glen Ave, Millburn, NJ in your GPS.

Fairy Trail Map

Free: 

  • Lenape Trail South Mountain (South) – Map is designed for the Lenape Trail, but it does show the Fairy Trail and Locust Grove parking area.
  • Essex County provides a black and white online map which is very hard to read.

Paid:

  • South Mountain Conservancy sells a great color, waterproof map ($7) and trail guide ($15). 
  • South Mountain Reserve Interactive Map (Android App only) – $4.99

Fairy Trail Description

The Fairy Trail follows a 0.6 mile section of the white-blazed Rahway Trail in the South Mountain Reservation. From the Locust Grove Parking lot, look for the sign for the Rahway Trail (and a sign about the Fairy Trail).

Over the last several years, small “fairy houses” have been secretly popping up along a half-mile stretch of the white-blazed Rahway Trail starting at the Locust Grove picnic area in the Reservation.  These are mostly the work of a local artist and founder of the Fairy Trail, Therese Ojibway. – South Mountain Conservancy

From the Rahway Trail description in the Trail Guide to the South Mountain Reservation:

From the southern trailhead at Locust Grove parking lot and for about a half-mile, almost to Campbell’s Pond, a number of fairy houses have been placed along the (Rahway) trail. The original architect of these houses was Therese Ojibway, a resident of Millburn. For several years, to coax her son out of doors, she created houses with miniature rooms and stairways filled with small replicas of furniture and beds. Some of the houses had two or three stories, with stairs climbing up the rotting logs in which they were located. Made completely from natural materials, the houses blended in with their surroundings and took a little searching to discover, drawing young children into the adventure of finding them.

The Fairy Trail was catapulted to fame by a July 2016 article in the New York Times. This was followed by numerous other articles in local and national publications, including Readers’ Digest. Unfortunately, with increased publicity, others have joined in, sometimes with less imagination and creativity than Ms. Ojibway, often using plastic dollhouse furniture and garish bright paint, neither of which blends in with the natural surroundings. Publicity has also led to the harming of the structures and the environment, due to children running off trail and mistreating the houses.

To encourage respect for the environment and the structures, a sign with the rules of the Rahway Fairy Trail was placed at Locust Grove in 2017 by the conservancy and Essex County Parks with Ms. Ojibway’s input (she still maintains the trail). The rules, which are also posted at www.somocon.org, encourage caring for the structures and recommended houses be built in one’s own backyard using natural materials.

  • Fairy Trail
Share 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinEmail
Juan Melli

Juan lives in Hoboken, New Jersey with his wife and two boys. He likes to explore the great Garden State and other equally nice states.

previous post
Tillman Ravine & Tea Cup – Stokes State Forest
next post
Labyrinth and Lemon Squeeze – Mohonk Mountain House

You may also like

High Rocks – Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve

May 14, 2022

Hickman Bridge – Capitol Reef National Park

May 7, 2022

Bradley Mine – Harriman State Park

May 3, 2022

Giant Stairs – Palisades Interstate Park

March 27, 2022

Copperas Mountain – Pequannock Watershed

March 12, 2022

Black Rock Mountain & Stahahe High Peak –...

February 27, 2022

Hemlock Falls – South Mountain Reservation

February 3, 2022

Terrace Pond Circular and Floating Walkway from Clinton...

January 17, 2022

LeGrande Hill & Wanaque Ridge – Ramapo Mountain...

January 16, 2022

The Best New Jersey and New York Hiking...

January 12, 2022

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Search

Top NJ Hikes This Week

  • 1

    Lenape Trail

  • 2

    Hemlock Falls – South Mountain Reservation

  • 3

    Cedar Swamp Trail – High Point State Park

  • 4

    Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park

Top NY Hikes This Week

  • 1

    Bradley Mine – Harriman State Park

  • 2

    Doris Duke Trail – Sterling Forest State Park

  • 3

    Cat Rocks, Eastern Pinnacles & Fitzgerald Falls – Appalachian Trail

  • 4

    Mt. Beacon Fire Tower – Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve

About Me

About Me

Juan

I love the outdoors. Over the years, friends would ask me for tips on where to hike, so I started this website as a way to help others discover nature.

Through the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, I'm a volunteer maintainer of a section of the Appalachian Trail (Garvey Springs to Kaiser Road) - which includes the beautiful Raccoon Ridge - in the Delaware Water Gap. I'm also a Trustee and Vice President of the Board of Team Wilderness, a non-profit with a mission of growing teamwork, leadership, and character within our urban youth through wilderness excursions.

Questions? Angry Rants? Jell-O recipes? I can be reached by using this form.

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
  • Garnet Lake
  • Looking north from Pinchot Pass
  • Woods Creek Suspension Bridge
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
Take a Hike!
  • Best Hikes in NJ
  • Find a Hike
    • Search/Find a Hike
    • Hike Map
    • Most Popular Hikes
    • Best Kid-Friendly NJ Hikes
    • NJ Hikes
    • NY Hikes
    • John Muir Trail
      • Part 1: Reds Meadow to Yosemite Valley
      • Part 2: Duck Pass to Bishop Pass
      • Part 3: Bishop Pass to Mt. Whitney
    • Appalachian Trail
    • Other
      • Barataria Preserve
      • Coconino National Forest
      • Grand Canyon National Park
      • Great Smoky Mountains National Park
      • Inyo National Forest
      • John Muir Trail
      • Shenandoah National Park
      • Yellowstone National Park
      • Yosemite National Park
  • Tips & Essentials
    • Hiking for Beginners
    • Best NJ & NY Hiking Books & Resources
    • Best Hiking Apps
    • AllTrails vs GaiaGPA
    • Hiking Gear
    • Winter Hiking Tips
    • Pequannock (Newark) Watershed Permits
    • Trail Maintenance Gear
    • Leave No Trace
  • Contact