I was going to write a "Free Day in Millburn" article and include the Fairy Trail as one part of it, but once we arrived at the Fairy Trail I realized it actually deserves an entire article of its own.
We lived in Millburn for about 4 years and I used to hike South Mountain 3-4 times a week so I'm very familiar with all the trails. If you ever have any questions about hiking South Mountain, with kids or without, getting to the trails, parking at them, or anything else, please reach out! I love to talk about hiking and I've done my fair share of trails in the area.
When I used to hike South Mountain regularly, the Fairy Trail wasn't nearly as built up as it was today. It used to just be a few little houses scattered through Rahway Trail, but now it is regularly maintained (despite occasional vandalism) and even has its own Facebook page!
A couple things you should know if you plan to hike the Fairy Trail:
1. You can park at the Locust Grove entrance which is across the street from the Millburn Public Library. For your GPS, you can use 197 Glen Ave Millburn NJ as the address.
2. There are FOUR trail entrances at this parking lot -- three in the back of the parking lot on the left, left center, and right hand sides, and ONE closest to Glen Ave. The one closest to Glen Ave is the entrance to the Fairy Trail. It is called the Rahway Trail and there is usually a big blue plastic recycling bin right in front of the entrance. Once you go a few feet into the woods, you'll see a sign identifying it as the Rahway Trail and you can cross over a tiny footbridge to enter the trail.
 Entrance to the Fairy Trail |  Fairy Trail rules! |
3. The full trail is about 1 mile long and it's a loop that goes right back to the parking lot. The trail is not very deep into the woods at all. In fact, in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees, you can see and hear the cars on Glen Ave for almost the entire duration of the hike. At any point, you can turn back along the same trail to go back to the parking lot OR you can turn onto one of the other connecting trails that also lead back to the parking lot. The trail is very easy to navigate.
4. The path is mostly clear, wide, and walkable for kids of all ages. About halfway through the loop, the trail narrows out quite a bit and is on the side of a steep hill leading to the larger stream. Kids who are not very sure-footed would probably need a hand to hold for this portion and it would not be easily navigated with a stroller. Again, once you got to this part, you could always turn back around and go back to the parking lot!
 |  And fallen ones with fairy dwellings inside! |
5. For clothes, obviously dress seasonally appropriately but a couple other things are worth noting. There are little streams throughout the trail, and also one bigger stream. Personally, my kids love to splash in little streams, throw rocks into big ones, and find mud whenever possible. So any time I hike the trails with them I make sure to put them in waterproof boots. This allows them to do one of their favorite activities along the Fairy Trail - jump off the little bridges into the puddle-depth streams.
6. The fairy dwellings are easy enough to spot but not right on the trail. My kids LOVE looking all around the trail and a little off the trail to find new fairy dwellings. It's great to have them so engaged along the trail, running ahead, and keeping their eyes open wide for new things to find!
7. It's worth a drive! If you don't live within the immediate vicinity like we do, it's totally worth making a little trip out of! In the past I don't think I would've said this, but since it's been built up I definitely would be willing to make a short day trip out of it if we lived farther away. Downtown Millburn is within walking distance of the trail if you need other ways to fill up your day with kids. They have GREAT coffee shops, book stores, playgrounds, parks, bakeries, a library, and so much more.
8. You can bring a contribution! Visitors are welcome to leave a fairy house of their own along the trail. Remember: Fairies do NOT like plastic homes. Contributors are encouraged to build houses only out of natural materials like: acorns, pinecones, shells, flowers, pretty stones, bark, moss, and branches. Of course, leave the fairy houses that others have made in their places and be respectful of everyone's creations. I let my kids bring toys that they can play with in the houses but make sure they are playing gently and putting everything back in its place before we leave. One thing I AM willing to leave behind is sugar as "food for the fairies!" The kids love it and it's still environmentally responsible.
Are you going to hike the Fairy Trail any time soon? Check out some of my favorite creations that we saw last week!
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