Welcome to Hopatcong State Park, located on the shores of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey's largest man-made lake!
Hopatcong State Park is a state park in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey, United States. Operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the park consists of two discrete parcels of land, one that encompasses Lake Hopatcong and a parcel of land on its southwestern shore, and another that encompasses Lake Musconetcong about one mile to the west-southwest.>
The park contains remnants of Morris Canal, which operated from the 1830s to the 1920s and was largely fed by the lake. Lake Hopatcong was originally created as part of the Morris Canal, a 90-mile waterway that ran from Newark to Phillipsburg and was the chief means of transporting coal, iron and zinc across New Jersey in the 1860s. The lake was the canal’s major source of water. In 1866, over 880,000 tons of freight was transported on the canal. However, as the more efficient Morris and Essex Railroad was established, the canal was abandoned park is also home to the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, open Sundays during spring and fall, and housed in what was once the home of the resident lock tender and his family. Hopatcong State Park remains one of the very few access points that the general public has use, and visit Lake Hopatcong. >
As far as the geocache, it should be pretty straight forward. Stay on the crushed gravel roadway until it flattens out - DO NOT BUSHWACK. As you walk down the pathway, you'll probably scratch your head and say "Why did the Devil come this way?!?" I thought the same thing, but when I got to bottom/end, I noticed the old roadway! I was later informed that this was where the old entrance to Hopatcong State Park was located. This is a beautiful little piece of the park, that I bet no-one ever visits, unless you are a geocacher!
Geocache Identification Permit Approval Number: HSP2018080603
Permit Expires on: 08/06/27
Final notes: Between Memorial Day, and Labor Day, there is a fee charged to enter the final cache location between 08:30am and 4:30pm. After 4:30pm entry is free, but the area closes at 8:30pm sharp. PLEASE REPLACE THE CACHE EXACTLY AS YOU FOUND IT!!! Muggles can be plentiful at any time, especially during the summer months. I don't want it to "get legs". An un-activated TB awaits the First-To-Find!
Solve the puzzle here to reveal the final coordinates: https://www.jigidi.com/solve.php?id=J7R2DHXJ
Congratulations to hikecycletri on the FTF!