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Wharton State Forest - Atsion - 1/1/13

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We always try to hike on New Year's Day as it's just a great way to start the year (and shake off the wine & cheese from the night before!)

For New Years we wanted a hike that we were familiar with so it didn't require any research, and our last hike here was less than a year ago [see Wharton State Forest – Atsion to Quaker Bridge…

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Added by njHiking.com on January 5, 2013 at 8:00pm — 3 Comments

Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve - 12/23/12

Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed was never really on our radar to do, but when the Watershed contacted us to put up their trail map onto njHiking.com we saw that there was a longer trail, the Watershed Trail, that linked the two smaller sections. Now we could likely get a solid 8+ miles in.

Most of…

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Added by njHiking.com on December 28, 2012 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Celebrate the New Year with “First Day Hikes”

A hike is a great way to kick off the New Year. There is nothing like fresh air and an invigorating hike on the first day of the year.

The New Jersey State Park Service is holding First Day Hikes across the state on January 1, 2013, in…

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Added by njHiking.com on December 26, 2012 at 2:05pm — No Comments

Helyar Woods at Rutgers Gardens - 12/3/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on December 6, 2012 at 3:02pm — No Comments

Scotland Run Park - 12/2/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on December 4, 2012 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Cheesequake State Park - After Hurricane Sandy - 11/23/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on November 29, 2012 at 5:29pm — No Comments

Hacklebarney State Park - Fall Foliage - 10/27/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on November 29, 2012 at 3:23pm — No Comments

Sunrise Mountain – Stokes State Forest - 10/14/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on October 25, 2012 at 12:49pm — No Comments

Terrace Pond – Wawayanda State Park - 10/21/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on October 25, 2012 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season 2012-13

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

 …

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Added by njHiking.com on October 9, 2012 at 9:17pm — 6 Comments

Wildcat Ridge - Four Birds, Hawkwatch, Beaver Pond - 9/30/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on October 5, 2012 at 12:58pm — No Comments

Henry Hudson Trail – Marlboro to Freehold - 9/1/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on September 6, 2012 at 11:30am — No Comments

Henry Hudson Trail and the Bayshore Bike Trail - 8/19/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on August 22, 2012 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Columbia Trail – Ken Lockwood Gorge - 8/12/12

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…

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Added by njHiking.com on August 16, 2012 at 11:48am — 1 Comment

Julian Capik Preserve -7/29/12

Julian Capik Preserve is a small park in Sayreville that we've had on our list to check out when we needed a quick, close-by hike.

I first noticed this park several years ago after reading in the local paper that it was being cleaned up, the illegal ATV use being reduced, and trails being made. Since then we've meaning to check it out.

With only a vague idea of…

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Added by njHiking.com on August 2, 2012 at 4:00pm — No Comments

D&R Canal Biking: Washington Crossing to Trenton - 7/15/12

We only had one day open this weekend, and the forecast was for scattered thunderstorms all day. So to make it easy we grabbed the bikes and headed to Washington Crossing again.

Overall, this was a mostly a decent ride but not our fave part of the towpath, mainly due to crossing over in Trenton.

Route:View in…

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Added by njHiking.com on July 16, 2012 at 4:40pm — 2 Comments

D&R Canal Biking: Washington Crossing to Stockton - 7/8/12

Hot summer weather always leads us to choose: "hike or bike?". The forecast this weekend made the choice easy. Saturday was supposed to be a bajillion degrees with dire heat warnings in effect. Sunday was shaping up for early-AM rain followed by afternoon thunderstorms... so with that sliver of available outdoors time, we tossed the bikes onto the car and headed over to the…

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Added by njHiking.com on July 10, 2012 at 12:47pm — No Comments

D&R Canal Biking: Rocky Hill South - 7/1/12

We decided on a bike ride due to the heat and hit up our old fave, The Delaware & Raritan Canal towpath starting from the Rocky Hill lot.

The towpath received some flood damage from the storms last year and there are a few closed or rerouted sections (be sure to check out the D&R Canal site). North and a…

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Added by njHiking.com on July 3, 2012 at 1:15pm — 2 Comments

Harriman – Seven Hills, HTS, Reeves Brook - 6/16/12

After tooling around our GPS data the other day, I noticed a big empty spot where the Seven Hills and Hillburn-Torne-Sebago (HTS) trails are.

This loop isn't overly long at just under 8 miles, but there are enough hills and scrambling sections to rate it on the low end of "challenging".

The route is relatively tame until the big scramble up to the views on HTS…

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Added by njHiking.com on June 21, 2012 at 2:41pm — No Comments

Wawayanda – Old Coal, Lookout, Turkey Ridge - 6/3/12

I'd had Turkey Ridge trail in Wawayanda on my list for several few weeks but we inadvertently chose the worst possible day to do it... it was like the universe was against us... traffic delays, a bike race, and a thunder storm. Yep, it was one of those days. Now, of course, an annoying day on the trail is still better than a good day at work but...

We'd done…

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Added by njHiking.com on June 5, 2012 at 1:30pm — No Comments

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