A spring-fed, ~20-acre lake near the summit — the highest lake in the state, with a swimming beach.
On your left as we climb is Lake Marcia — and take a look, because you're seeing something unusual: a clear, spring-fed lake sitting right up near the top of a mountain. At better than fifteen hundred feet, this is the highest lake in New Jersey. It's fed by cold springs, it's ringed by forest, and in summer there's a swimming beach here where you can take a dip about as high up as you can get in this state.
In autumn, though, it's the reflections that stop you — the whole blaze of the turning ridge doubled in that still, cold water. It's a favorite spot for a photo, and rightly so. We'll keep climbing from here toward the monument, but if you've got time on the way back down, this is a lovely place to sit a while.
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0
