Best Trails in Morgan Hill State Forest

Great trail! Few spots were muddy and there were a few random inclines. You’ll have to go off trail for about 2mi on a road to make the loop back to the start. Trail had a beautiful look out and a hidden waterfall about 4-5mi in. Highly recommend trail! Bring snacks along the way because it was long!

Nice ramble through the woods. The eastern part of the loop follows a stream with some nice little waterfalls. No view at the summit though.

The trail was extremely muddy with a lot of trees that had fallen. crews were clearing roadways but most of the trails were a wreck. This led to a lot of free roaming and a good time.

Loved the variety of terrain and views. As previously mentioned, many options here to cut short the hike or extend it. Mary Mead, it goes by Tinker Falls but there's another one you pass by on the opposite side of the road that fits through the loop.

Just wondering, why is there a waterfall in the picture? What is the name of it. Do you see it from the trail?

A little muddy, too much time on roads. Very nice highlights on the trail though.

Great trail with a nice bridge, small waterfall, and lean-to. Crampons required if at all icy.

Great trail into the falls and pond. The last mile is on the road though.

well nice long trail and very cruises

I did 3 days on this trail. I quit smoking..it was heart breaking and beautiful at the same time. always be special to me.

A great woods trail. Following cnyhiking.com instructions for the Morgan Hill Short Loop trail was much more helpful (but I like the All Trails Pro feature of following my position along the trail on my phone) I cut it short at Shackham Rd. rather than going on to Jones Hill. Completed about 9 miles this way (according to my Fitbit). What nobody mentions below is that this follows the North Country Trail with blue blazes and is quite well marked. Not for the beginner - but not as steep as some gorge rim trails I've hiked. Watch your step, especially when it's wet. Yes, there's a lot of walking up the roads, but I need to get out of the woods to not feel so closed in all the time, it was a welcome break. The roads are lightly traveled, so it was like a nice walk up a country road. Will be going back to hit the other side at some point.

An ok hike, some nice woodsy spots, however too much road sections. Basically it's two tracks knitted together. The start is down Herlihy Road at the base of Spruce Pond. Across the pond is the trail, part of the Finger Lakes Trail, the Blue marker. Turn left and after 3.3km of winding through the forest, crossing Shackham Road & Pond, it hits turns left on Morgan Hill Road, back across Shackham and onto Herlihy Road for another 2.0km. Near the start at Spruce Pond, it turns right on the Orange Trail, a great 2.8km, however then it empties back onto Herlihy Road for the final 1.0km.

The section on the road was boring but the rest of the trail is beautiful with plenty to look at. There are some tough elevation changes, though there are plenty of flat sections to break it up.

I've done this hike many times and would recommend it anyone

Pleasant day hike with options to explore further or take shortcuts as needed. Great view to the northwest across Labrador Hollow from the hang glider spot at the northwestern most point of the hike. A relatively new bike trail on the east side lets you bypass most of the long walk on Morgan Hill Rd and keep to the woods, but you do shortcut the northeast corner of the hike this way.

Nice walk, hike, walk....You start out going up a dirt/gravel road, with pretty forest on either side. once at the top a left turn into a beautiful , well marked forest trail. Eventually you make it back onto Morgan hill road to finish your walk. think we will bring the dogs next time.

Was a beautiful hike on a nice day, little bit of mud in some places, but manageable. Very clean trails, great views, peaceful too. Happy to be allowed to walk through the private lands still.

The first half of the trail was great. The second half seemed to be a made up trail. We ended up walking 10 miles and only did about 3/4 of it. Check the trail before doing it.

A pleasant walk with moderate activity on weekends, otherwise quiet.

A portion of the blue-markered trail was closed about a mile in. There is a new detour trail marked with pink flags that links back up to the trail at the clearing that overlooks Labrador Hollow. The beginning of the "pink flag" trail is a little rough and through tall grass, but after ~1/4 mile it gets a little better and heads back into the woods. We didn't hike the full trail, but made it down to Tinker falls. It was our first time here and we enjoyed it. The only negatives were that a portion was closed and that it was very wet/muddy most of the way.

I'd rate this as moderate. I read the trail reviews and used this site to help guide me http://www.cnyhiking.com/Spruce-ShackhamPondLoop.htm. I'm not sure where I missed any turns, but the mileage/directions seemed off. I parked at the dirt parking lot on Herlilhy Road. You can see the trail sign at the end of the pond. I took the blue trail, which was clearly marked. Then, there were some private posted signs that warned you to stay on the trail only. About 1.5-2 miles in, you come to a clearing with a great view of the pond. From there, I continued straight down a wide dirt trail. At 2.75 miles, I reached the end of the trail and RT 91. There were several offshoots for blue and orange trails off this wide, dirt trail, but I couldn't tell which was supposed to be the right loop. I ended up just turning back around and leaving the way I came. Long hike but definitely do able for my 5 month old puppy. She loved all the mud! I wouldn't do this trail again, but for the area, the view at the top is great.

The hike was very enjoyable and the lakes were the beautiful scenic highlights of this trip. The trail was muddy and got much more difficult when the trail becomes part of the FLT system. I had to back track once because I missed the turn at the second lake (shackham?), I never found the trail and just took the road to the lake and FLT entrance.

As shown, very steep first quarter mile but much easier after that. Follow blue blazes for main trail. Great short hike 1.5 miles to very scenic clearing atop Morgan Hill with great views of the valley and Labrador Pond. Trailhead across the pond from the parking area. Trail very muddy in spots so boots are a must.

This is a beautiful and quiet area. Be aware that there is no "trailhead" as it goes along the North Country Trail. The parking area where this brings you is not very clearly marked, but offers enough room on the side of the dirt road for about 3 cars. The trail is very clearly marked with blue blaze lines on the trees. If you're looking for a quiet destination and an easy hike, I'd highly recommend this route!

This a a fairly difficult trail. Plenty of elevation ups and downs. Very scenic and few other hikers. Ample camping spots and one lean-to located 1.75 miles north of Shackham Road.