On Memorial Day High Point State Park will officially open for the season. That might be too soon for visitors to climb the steps inside High Point Monument. Every winter water gets into the mortar in between the granite blocks of the monument. It freezes and thaws which causes cracks. This happens with all block and mortar structures. Even the front steps of a house. Every year pieces of the cracked mortar fall from the 220 foot monument which creates a hazard. As of now the monument is not in any structural danger according to the park superintendent. The monument's granite blocks are held in place by their own weight. When the weather gets warmer the pieces of mortar stop falling. Since temperatures on top of the mountain are usually colder year round it sometimes takes until late spring or early summer to open the monument. One year it took until July. According to the park superintendent at least once a week park rangers check to see how much mortar is still falling.
Source: New Jersey Herald