NjHiking.com's Blog (187)

This is a small county park located in Old Bridge, NJ with a very nice trail system tucked away behind a ball field.

There are several well marked loops, with mileage marked on the park map. We managed to put a 5.1 mile loop together, and it would be easy to do less if you like.

Trail surface is very easy: level and soft pine needles, with boardwalks…

We tried this hike nearly one year ago to the day, but had to cut it short due to snow. So this time we waited for the snow to be finally gone from South Jersey before we headed down.

9.9 miles - This trail is a great sample of the pine barrens: endless pine, sandy trails covered in pine needles, and cranberry bogs. It’s also a hike that is…

These two parks are a few minutes down the road from each other, in Ocean County.

Jakes Branch seems like relatively new park, with a 4 mile trail in addition to the usual ball fields, tennis courts, and picnic areas that county parks usually have. Be sure to head up the center's observation deck for a view of the park from 5 stories up.

Trails are…

This is a small park with very easy hiking, but with snow still on the ground and us needing something close-by that day... it fit the bill.



We planned a roughly 5-7 mile hike from Nomoco parking area, but that lot was closed. We headed to the main entrance off Georgia Rd. and parked at Oak Point.



We ended up cutting the hike short because sinking…

Opted for a hike in the Pine Barrens, somewhere with little snow left on the ground and some green on the trees. Temperatures were around 25 degrees but it really wasn't that bad once you got moving.



4.1 miles + about a mile walking around the Village - Easy terrain. Mostly level, packed dirt and some softer sand (frozen solid today),…

On Halloween we ended up hiking along the Black River, starting at the Cooper Mill lot in Chester. The foliage was still decent, but not as brilliant as we'd passed the week before on our way up to The Gap. We also wanted to hit this park on a Sunday, as they do allow hunting here.



We've hiked this beautiful area many times, but added in a spur we hadn't done before. I'd noticed in "Hiking New Jersey" that a side trail lead to "Kay's Summer Cottage Ruins, Grotto…

We did the Wanaque Ridge trail back in March on a brisk, overcast day, and wanted to come back on a nicer day to get better photos. We did a similar route this time but added in a loop to Van Slyke Castle, and instead of the YELLOW trail we walked back along the unmarked woods road along Ramapo Lake.…

Ended up doing two small hikes at Great Swamp as we had a busy weekend and only had time for a short hike, need one under an hour away.



7.25 miles total (approx., our GPS decided to drop us at end of hike #2) 1st hike: 2 miles, 2nd hike: 5.25...probably. Terrain is level, very easy to easy.



We first stopped at the Wildlife Observation Center and walked the 2 miles of boardwalks through th swamp. There are several observation blinds to check out…