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 very lush and green, and some areas remind us of the Pacific Northwest.

Miles: 5.7. Rocky with some hills – and the return from Ghost Lake is uphill.

ROUTE: Summit Trail (Yellow) – Ghost Lake Trail; out-and-back.

More info, photos, and video can be found on our Best Hikes in NJ: Jenny Jump page.

We had nice weather after a week of rain, and while the forecast called for potential showers in the afternoon, they didn’t materialize until the drive home. The mosquitoes, however, were unreal.

Since there had been a lot of rain and we’d run into bug issues here before, we covered ourselves in a fog of Deep Woods Off. Even so, it was like Pigpen from the Peanuts cartoon – except trailing behind us was a cloud of mosquitoes rather than dirt… Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Lake, Moderate, Viewpoint

We only had time for a short hike today, so we headed over to the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell. It was chilly – only 20 degrees when we left the house – making us question our choice of a park near open water. It was very, very brisk and we needed our winter hats/gloves still. We keep trying to put them away for the season, but this winter just keeps hangin’ on.

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. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Easy Hike, Lake

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.

If you aren’t looking for a long hike and are more into short trails, playgrounds and picnic areas, you’ll still want to check this park out. From the small parking lot, take a short stroll down the red trail along the river – there is a bridge to cross and you can score a picnic table on a little island of land. There are a few small trail loops and a couple of playgrounds.

10.2 miles, moderate trail surface. Lots of level woods roads, with some steep sections.There were a lot of large areas of standing water… unsure if that was just because of the recent heavy rain or not. If you head there in the summer… have bugspray handy in case it’s mosquito central. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Fire Tower, Moderate

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. Lots of opportunities for short hikes in this park (distances noted on the park map). We had to piece together all the trails to put together a long loop.

Started at the trailhead parking on Nomoco Road (at a maintenance building). There is a trail kiosk which had printed maps. Walk behind the building to spot the BLUE trail marker. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Central NJ, Moderate, Monmouth

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.

It’s part of Thompson Park, which we’d checked out probably some ten years ago and determined there weren’t any trails there, just the usual park stuff, dirt park trails around playgrounds, a zoo… nice, but not what we were looking for. It’s possible we missed the trails because they are south of the main park, or that trail info online was so much harder to find in the olden days… or maybe they are just newer.

At any rate, 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 (John A. Philips Park) this is not a park to check out if you have to drive far to it.

2.6 Miles. We pieced together the longest route we could, without taking the spur trails and having the walk back along the park road. The trailhead is next to the dog run area (Perrineville Road to Fir Drive). No maps were at the kiosk. There is a restroom building near the parking lot. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Central NJ, Easy Hike, Middlesex