NjHiking.com's Blog (187)

When we were last at Jenny Jump we nearly got carted off by swarms of mosquitoes. So when a windy Saturday was forecasted we thought it would be a prime time to go back and check out the Jenny Jump Trail (even a gentle breeze usually thwarts mosquitoes).



The first view on the map isn't much,…

Fall foliage in New Jersey usually starts in the northwest corner of the state in the Delaware Water Gap and along the Kittatinny Ridge, so on yet another nice fall day we headed out that way. The foliage was kind of a mixed bag still, but hiking Mt. Minsi is always nice. It was quite hazy but the views were still great.

Normally when we hike Minsi we just…

Lots-n-lots of views… but also lots of up-n-down on this route. We hadn’t done Wyanokie High Point in about two years so we headed back to Norvin Green (one of the most rugged parks in NJ, and one of our faves) on a really nice early Fall day.

Chikahoki Falls was gushing from the recent rain, but so were the trails… a few were so wet the water was actually…

I'd read that Cheesequake State Park had taken a decent hit from Irene. There were lots of down trees visible throughout, but the park staff had already done a terrific job cleaning up the trails. In fact, it looked like many had been raked clear because there was so much debris that the trail would be hard to follow otherwise.

One large section of boardwalk was…

We've created a page with reports and resources for trail damage caused by Irene:

http://www.njhiking.com/hurricane-irene-trail-damage.php

And if you have a link or article to share, post it to the Irene forum discussion:…

Check out NJ Hiking's August Newsletter. Featured are Merrill Creek Reservoir, a Mt. Tammany and Sunfish Pond challenging hike, and the latest hiking news.

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We were poking around our GPS data for Harriman State Park, looking for an area that we hadn't done and ended up doing a loop from Lake Skannatati.



The highlights of this loop are: a nice viewpoint of Lake Skannatati (right in the beginning), view of Lake Askoti from some rock slabs, the Hasenclever Mine (large deep hole filled with water), and a small cemetery…

With the recent heat, we were looking for a mostly shady hike and ended up in the Delaware Water Gap at the Pocono Environmental Education Center. There were also strong thunderstorms possible in the afternoon, and we wanted a route with options to bail if need be.



The parking lot of PEEC sits in the center of the area's trails so a hike can be cut short if storms…

We combined the Coppermines Trail, the AT, and Rattlesnake Swamp Trail to make a big loop, which serves up a bit-o-everything: streams, water cascades, mines (closed), ridge hiking with views of rural Jersey, a fire tower, lush trails, rhododendron tunnels, a swamp... very nice.



Coppermines Trail follows a stream for a lot of the way, and heads gradually…

We needed a moderate-yet-pretty trail to do with some friends who were getting back into hiking shape, so we headed over to Jenny Jump. We hadn't been there in just about two years exactly.



There are several nice scenic viewpoints, including of the Delaware Water Gap. The hike leads to Ghost Lake, which is a small but pretty lily-pond filled lake. The trails are…

Our spring hiking so far was getting tripped up by weather, weekend obligations, and a vacation spent tooling around the Yucatan in Mexico (where the vast, flat expanses of trees reminded us of Jersey's Pinelands!).



Finally we got some time free, and with some recent rain decided on two hikes with plenty of waterfall action. First up, a quick 2.0…

We only had time for a short hike today, so we headed over to the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell. It's been quite some time since we'd been to this very pretty park, as it's more of a stroll around the reservoir rather than a hike. But by adding in the Cove Trail we managed to get in about 5.9 miles.



For 5.1 miles, just do the Perimeter Trail and skip…

Decided to check out Stephens State Park once we stumbled on a trail map that showed the potential for long loops here. This park is located right next to Allamuchy State Park, which we'd been to before, but we'd skipped Stephens because the official map only shows a few short trails around the parking lot.



10.2 miles,…

This is a long route in the northern part of Pyramid Mountain Natural Area and around Butler Reservoir. The reservoir and Pyramid is really pretty, but a lot of this route is just so-so. The trail runs near a LOT of houses (which would be less visible when the leaves are on the trees), and there is a lot more road walking than we like... you literally walk on several…

We tried this loop in early February but the slushy snow caused us to cut things short. This time the snow was all gone, and we were able to hike the entire park. There is a nice mix of pine trees and deciduous forest, the Manasquan river, and a lake and swamp area.

8.1 miles. Trail surface is easy and level; this hike is moderate only due to length.…

We decided we couldn't bear to trudge through even one little bit of slushy snow today, so we opted to head down south again. The weather did not disappoint - 50 sunny degrees that felt more like the end of March than February.

This may be our favorite hike in the Pine Barrens. It's the typical pine trees and packed sandy trails, but adds in views along the…

This is a small trail system located in Monroe Township. The wooded trails are easy, with a bit of rolling hills and a meandering stream.

This another addition to our list of close-by parks for a quick hike. At even less mileage than a park we did last week (…