All Blog Posts (324)

December 3rd and 60's and sunny. Well, I certainly couldn't be expected to stay inside all day even though it was a workday so I scampered off for a quick hike at Heylar Woods.

This is a tiny little plot of woods with a few trails that is tucked in by Rutgers Gardens in New Brunswick.

I hadn't been hiking here in awhile so this was the first…

December is always busy with holiday obligations that keep us out of the woods, and this past weekend we had things both days. When there's a brunch involved, we try to find a nearby park to a least get in a little hike afterwards (and to work off some of the big meal!)

This year the closest one to brunch was Scotland Run Park.

I'd found a map…

Cheesequake State Park is one of our favorite places to hike in New Jersey. It's our nearby go-to park when we want to get in a nice short hike without having to drive far.

We'd read that it had been hit particularly hard by Hurricane Sandy, but didn't have a chance to check it out until the day after Thanksgiving.

The park staff and volunteers…

We headed to Hacklebarney to get the last bits of lovely fall color before Sandy came to town and ended foliage season.... and as it turned out made a huge mess out of Jersey in general.

Even though it was overcast the day we went, it was still gorgeous. Hacklebarney isn't a very big park with a lot of trails, but there is a lot of scenery packed in…

Those of you who've hiked Harriman after Sandy came through and been past the 'infamous' Times Square junction know what it looks like there.  While there's destruction and felled trees strewn over & around nearly all the trails, it just seemed particularly significant to see this popular crossroad in its unrecognizable state.

In the Times Square area, this tree had been growing on top of a rock slab for heaven knows how long.  How many years since that slab had seen the light of…

Hiked three days at Harriman over Thanksgiving holiday. Each hike took about 1/3 longer due to maneuvering blowdown damage. 

So many blows to ramble up, over, through, under and bushwacks around that it really chewed into our time.  In a very dark sense, however, it made for a much more challenging hike what with having to figure out not only how to get back on trail, but in many cases figuring out where the trail was in the first place!

On this particular hike…

Any good hikes or trails in the Gloucetser County area?  I'm just starting out, so nothing too strenuous please.  If there are other hikers in this area looking for someone to hike with, then let me know.

I am looking for an overnight idea for us, with hiking in and out.  I am thinking of going up to Sunfish Pond.  I live in Keyport so if anyone has some ideas that are closer, please post

Today, Scott and I were off and headed out to one of our favorite spots, Jenny Jump State Park, to see how it handled the storm.

For those who have never been, it is beautiful out there, and we feel an energy there every time we are out there, not ever having to do with the story of Jenny, of which I an…

Well it's fall foliage season... which can be a complicated game of strategy for hikers looking to hit areas at peak color.

"If it was peak last weekend in the Catskills, do I head to Harriman this weekend? or will the foliage be better at the Gap? Should we head to Ramapo next weekend or further west?..."

Foliage coverage maps and reports are consulted. Guesses…

We headed to West Milford with hopes of hitting peak foliage around Terrace Pond. The trails were at peak but it looked like the recent rain had hurried things along more than we expected at the pond and from the viewpoints. Still gorgeous though.... the trails is this area never disappoint in any season.

We'd visited Terrace Pond twice three years ago…

Hi, Everyone. My boyfriend needs a hiking buddy for Thanksgiving weekend to summit Mt. Mary in the Adirondacks? Anyone interestd?

The Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season page with schedules, rules, and resources has been updated for the 2012-13 season. The page also collects a bunch of blaze orange clothing, hats, packs and doggie gear that's available to keep you and fido safe on the trail.

I've also created a calendar PDF of the dates again this year. Enjoy.

--Dawn

 …

It had been over three years since we'd hiked Wildcat Ridge ("Four Birds Trail (south) – Wildcat Ridge"). We had planned to revisit last year and just didn't get to it.

So we chose that for our first hike getting back into the swing of things - I'd been sidelined…

Was just up for a nice end of week hike in Allamuchy Mountain in the Byram area. Finally decided to take the "Ice Cream Trail" since from what I'm hearing as long as you don't venture to the left of the trail, you're still in the park and not on the Scouts reservation and you're good. Plus it's the best way to get to the summit. Well, I got to the summit but wasn't quite able to locate the survey marker, plus a nice size Black Racer wouldn't let me lol - careful, they shake their tails…

We actually had no plans to do this section of the Henry Hudson. At only around 10 miles roundtrip we felt it wasn't really worth hitching up the bikes and driving over, even though we'd done the northern section and enjoyed it.



But when we needed to pick up a gelato cake* in Freehold and I realized the store was near the trail so we decided to go check it out…

In his book "Harriman Trails: A Guide and History", author William Myles describes "Rockneath", a cabin built against a large boulder just north of Almost Perpendicular off the Blue Disc Trail in Harriman Park. It's described as having windows, a fireplace, double deck bunks and a spring nearby. Although it was built in 1928, it seemed to me that there might be remains of such an elaborate structure, and I decided to try to  find it.

What I found is pretty interesting, but I'm not…

The last time I hiked the white-blazed Four Birds Trail along the western side of Splitrock Reservoir through Farny State Park, it was absolutely miserable.  The trail was poorly blazed, completely undefined in most places, it was frustrating.   I heard the trail had been reblazed a while back and had found that to be the case farther north on the Four Birds Trail so I went back to check out the section just north of Split Rock Road.  Sure enough, there is now a kiosk south of Split Rock…

I'd totally forgotten about the Henry Hudson Trail until being recently reminded of it by some photos posted here on NJH:Connect by Joe M. Many years ago I'd biked part of this with a friend who lived near it, but I hadn't thought of it since.

The north section of the Henry Hudson Trail runs for about 10 miles from Keyport to Avenue D in the Atlantic Highlands. A…

If you enjoy hiking or biking on rail-trails, then check out the Columbia Trail as it's one of the best in NJ. We first biked the Columbia Trail last summer and really enjoyed this easy trail through a very pretty area. (see "Biking: Columbia Trail – Ken Lockwood Gorge")

The…