This is the valley of the South Branch of the Raritan River, a trout stream that runs clear enough over its stones to keep fly fishermen loyal for generations. Califon itself is a tiny place, barely a thousand people, with an old railroad right-of-way now used as a rail trail and a main street you will cross before you notice it. Long Valley sits a few kilometres to the north, and the hills on its far side belong to Schooley's Mountain, the first stretch of real ridge you meet when riding in from the east.
The riding here is gentle and rhythmic rather than dramatic. County roads follow the river and then climb over low wooded saddles, with horse paddocks, stone farmhouses and the occasional covered view across the valley. Corners come in long, readable arcs, the surface is mostly decent but patched after hard winters, and speed limits are low and enforced by small-town police who have nothing better to do on a Sunday. Early morning is the best hour, when mist lies in the river bottoms and the few cyclists out are still warming up. Autumn turns the maples loud with colour, and mid-October weekends bring leaf-peepers who slow everything down.
Schooley's Mountain has a more surprising history than its quiet slopes suggest. In the nineteenth century people from New York and Philadelphia came here to take the mineral waters, and big wooden hotels sat along the ridge for the cool air and the cure. The hotels are gone, but the idea that this is a place to escape the city has not changed. Today the ridge is partly preserved as county and state parkland, and the woods hold white-tailed deer in numbers that make dusk riding a genuine hazard. Slow down when the light goes amber.
For practical matters, Califon and Long Valley are both small enough that you should not count on fuel or a late meal in the village itself. Hackettstown, about fourteen kilometres away, is the nearest town of any size and has stations, supermarkets and plenty of places to eat. Beattystown is closer but little more than a crossroads and a few houses. If you are using this point as a start or finish, a swim is possible in the river pools in summer, though the water is cold and the banks are private in places, so ask before you wade in.