Location:
Rockaway, NJ or Boonton, NJ

Story:
Spooky Split Rock Road... it's legends are many. According to local lore, it's got ghosts, cult activity, unexplained lights in the sky, animal carcasses, murder, suicide, and one heck of an urban legend- they say that if you drive down this lonely winding road late at night, gangs/Satanists/Klansmen/Albinos will block both ends of the narrow, one-lane bridge that runs over the Split Rock Reservoir as you drive across it, trapping you in the middle

On one side- a deep reservoir with a powerful sucking drain that leads to certain death, on the other side- a loooong, deadly drop onto a man-made "waterfall"... your options would be pretty sucky either way, I'd say. There are also some really huge, old brick furnace-thingys in the woods off of Split Rock.

Many strange and spooky stories surround this area, and it's said to be downright scary after dark. Urban legend states that if you attempt to drive down the narrow single lane bridge at night, gangs will block the bridge at either end, trapping you inside.

Some have reported seeing unidentified glowing lights hovering above the reservoir late at night. Others say that the old bridge itself is haunted by the spirits of unfortunate drowning victims- stories tell of skinny-dipping teens leaping from the guard tower in the middle of the bridge, into the reservoir, only to be sucked into the unseen underwater drain below that runs through the dam and empties into the man-made concrete "waterfall" on the other side. Ouch. The bridge also has a reputation as being a sort of "suicide leap"; there are tales of unhappy souls slipping through the bridge's fence and throwing themselves over the deadly drop, to the jagged concrete of the waterfall below. However, whispered rumors say murder- not suicide- is what really goes on at Split Rock.

Mike's Comments:
We took two trips here, one the day before which was uneventful. The next day, however we drove over the bridge and it looks pretty unsturdy. We decided to turn around halfway down the street and go back over the bridge. Little did we know, it was alot more muddy. Jill's car got stuck in the mud and I tried with no avail to get it out. AAA and a cop came and got us out 2 hours later. Word of advice: take John's truck. Also watch before the pavement ends for the house of Vicki Diamond, she makes interesting stone sculptures and has llama in her backyard. And be very careful of this road when it is wet.

Directions:
- Take the Parkway North to exit 145.
- Merge onto I-280 West. Take the exit for 287/46/Morristown/Boonton.
- Merge onto I-80 West.
- Take the 287 North exit # 43B toward Route 46.
- Stay to the left and merge onto 287 North.
- Take exit 43 toward Nountain Lakes.
- Make a left on Intervale Rd./CR-202/CR-511.
- After Intervale curves, take the 4th right onto Midvale Rd.
- Make the 3rd right onto Morris Ave.
- Make a left onto Poweville Rd.
- You come to a fork in Powerville, make a left onto Valley Road.
- At the T-Intersection, make a right on Rockaway Valley Road.
- Split Rock is a slight left about one mile down, it starts up a hill.
- You will come to a fork in Split Rock, take the road on the left. The bridge is about a mile or so after the pavement ends.

Pictures:
(Click to enlarge)

From Left to Right: The Split Rock Road street sign ... A Split Rock Ball ... A Split Rock Pyramid ... A Split Rock Arc ... A Split Rock Pilar ... A llama on the property of the art and Vicki Diamond ... A sign we a warning we should have heeded ... The infamous bridge .. the guard hut.