Detailed hike info on our Hartshorne Woods page.

We took a little time off around the holidays so of course we needed to get some hikes in. Since it was a weekday we wanted a park that was no-hunting (though it is closed a few days in December) plus we didn’t feel like driving far so we decided to hit up Hartshorne Woods Park in Middletown.

It was also forecast to be very cold (like in the mid-30s brr) so we wanted a park we could bail on if we had enough. Of course, the forecast for the next day changed from rain to the 50s as we were heading out the door. Ah, well.

We knew it was a long time since we’d been to this park, but until I couldn’t find an entry in our Trail Blog (which goes back to 2006) I didn’t realize how long. I had to root through our photos to discover we’d last been in 2003. Yikes.

It’s a very nice park but we had found the multi-use trails a nuisance – not that the bike riders were anything but polite – we just prefer to hike without the possibility of a bike whizzing ’round the corner, so we had put the park on a back burner. Even on a chilly Thursday we saw a handful of bike riders, so imagine on a warm weekend.

The trails are not blazed but are marked with signposts at intersections, which mostly works ok – but make sure you pick up or print out a map. We managed to piece together a decent size route by combining the outer trails of the entire park, and checking out some of the battery/bunker buildings.

The Rocky Point end of the park was used as a military coastal defense position in WWII, and there are some bunkers to check out. There are also views of the Navesink River and the ocean.

Miles: 9.1 miles (8.7 if you skip the boring Command Loop like we should have done)

Parking: N40 24.064 W74 00.774 [Buttermilk Valley Entrance]
Roughly 35-40 min from central NJ, New Brunswick-ish area.

Route: Laurel Ridge – Grand Tour – Rocky Point – Battery Loop – Cuestra Ridge – Laurel Ridge

Snack Time: Clif Bar recently sent us this cute little box with some samples. On this hike we tried the White Chocolate Macadamia Mojo Bar and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Builder’s Bar.

White Chocolate Macadamia Mojo Bar Verdict: 2 thumbs sideways. While the bar tasted good, we probably wouldn’t purchase them. Mojos are usually salty-savory and we get them when we want a change from the usual energy bar, so we didn’t see a benefit to making it taste like a sweet bar.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Builder’s Bar Verdict: 1 thumbs up, 1 “eh”. The bar tastes good, with chocolate and peanut butter over a crisp rice layer. But bars with crisp layers can be on the hard side, especially in the cold, so I gave it an “eh”.

We were looking for a hike that was relatively nearby and not too long, as we were going to be out late the night before. Thompson Park (not to be confused with Thompson Park in Middlesex County) was on our list of ‘short hikes to check out’.

I’d always thought this park was just a take-a-stroll, play-some-soccer kind of park until I stumbled upon it’s trail map online. The longest trail on the park map listed was the Reservoir Loop, described as a 4.8 mile loop around the reservoir and lake, so we opted for that.

Overall, this hike was the right choice for a nearby park we could still get some miles in… but it traveled a lot more through fields and on grass than we care for. It was also very sparsely marked, BLUE marker posts were only at some junctions. We could mostly tell where we were by looking at the map, but it required many stops to double check.

Also – no matter how I looked at our GPS data vs the park map  – this trail is longer than the stated 4.8 miles. And we cut it shorter and took the paved park path to avoid backtracking. Maybe we are missing something here, and it wasn’t a big deal to us…. but 1.6 extra miles could be a bit of a surprise for someone.

Miles: 6.4. Trail surface mostly easy: forested areas have some roots, and some grassy areas were quite wet. Mostly flat, no big elevation changes.

Parking: N40 19.822 W74 08.388 (Old Orchard lot)

Route: Reservoir Loop (BLUE) and Paved Trail

Wildlife Spotted: About a dozen or so turtles, and two Eastern Garter Snakes.

We ended up at Morristown National Park for Veteran’s Day Weekend, hiking Jockey Hollow and a bit into the adjacent Lewis Morris Park. It had been over two years since we’d done the Grand Loop and Mt Kemble Loop trails.

As soon as we drove into the park, it was apparent that Snowtober had taken it’s toll with many toppled trees, trees snapped in half, and many downed branches. Of course it was more of the same on the trails themselves.

Even though all the trails had been cleared, we passed so many blowdowns… many still with full fall foliage on them. Foliage was well past it’s prime at the park and the trail was covered with a thick carpet of leaves, but there still was the occasional tree in full on yellow or golds.

We had decided to just go for a hike and not lug around the SLR or the video camera for a change, figuring that the park would be on the brown side… and it was. This is a beautiful park regardless, but there aren’t many overlooks and w/o green or fall foliage, there wasn’t enough for us to warrant hauling the gear. Sometimes you just want to hike.

We usually do the Grand Loop and Mt Tremble trail, but this time we added a little loop into Lewis Morris too. The Patriot Path connects the trail systems of both parks, allowing for the creation of long routes.

The trails here are easy and this route is moderate only due to length. There are a few hills but a lot of this park is flat, and it’s also not rocky like northern NJ tends to be.

Note: Lewis Morris allows hunting and there was a sign posting the days it would be closed for that – check the park site before heading out.

Jockey Hollow info.

Lewis Morris park info

Lewis Morris Trail Map

Parking: N40 46.345 W74 31.672 (This is the parking in the center of the park with bathrooms)

Route: BLUE – WHITE (Grand Loop) – BLUE (Patriots Path) into Lewis Morris – ORANGE – GREEN – GREEN/YELLOW – BLUE (Patriots Path) out of Lewis Morris – WHITE (Grand Loop) – BLUE

Wildlife spotted: 4 deer and the briefest glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker as it flew away.

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.

In a moment there is a sign; we headed RIGHT into the campground and took the 1 mile Blueberry Path (Blue).This loop is just ok, it was confusing to find the unmarked trailhead, and we had to walk down the dirt driveways of the campground. Only include it if you want to do the longest hike possible here.

Then we came back to this point and took the Metedeconk Trail (BLUE), which lead into the main park.

ROUTE: Blueberry Path (Blue) – Metedeconk Trail (BLUE) – Link Trail (GREEN) – Old Lenape Trail (GREEN) – Manasquan Trail (BLUE) – Alder Trail (GREEN) – Metedeconk Trail (BLUE)

The trails are mostly really well marked… mostly. There were a few instances at intersections where markings just were not there, and while we were almost certain of the way to go… it required walking blind for a bit.

Most users of this park probably do a short loop from the main parking, however, and are not tying a bunch of trails together.

The park was busy near the center parking, but we saw no one on Metedeconk and only a handful on the Manasquan trail.

Turkey Swamp Park - park site with trail map, directions, info. We parked at the trailhead parking just before the entrance to the Nomoco Rec Area, as that was gated. No restrooms at this trailhead.

Wildlife spotted: On the Blueberry Loop, a few deer and a wild turkey (a turkey in Turkey Swamp park… how cliche…)

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.

Like any park with a tight inter-looping network of trails, pay attention to the blazes and the map to keep track of where you are. There were also a lot of other round paint color blotches on trees: these don’t correspond to the map and can throw you off. Basically, only follow the rectangle blazes which are the actual trails.

Route: RED to almost to its end, where its meets BLUE for a 2nd time. BLUE to a right onto YELLOW.

It becomes a bit unclear as YELLOW curves around. Pass an unmarked trail on the left, then a trail on your right which is actually GREEN but we didn’t see blazes for. Then after that, turn right onto GREEN (marked, and YELLOW heads left). GREEN goes over a stream on a small boardwalk, and immediately bears left. A trail also goes straight, to a clearing.

Take GREEN back to RED, at which point the parking lot is right there.

Thompson Park Conservation Area – park site, directions

Thompson Park Trail Map

Other: We were amazed to find snow on the trail in sections, after all the rain we just had. In areas with a lot of foot traffic, it was hard-packed ice and in one section it was pretty dicey going downhill.

We managed to put a 5.1 mile loop together, and it would be easy to do less if you like. It’s not worth driving from far away to, but if you are in the area it’s a nice close-by park to get an easy hike in. We often go to Cheesequake for quick hikes, and now we have another option.

5.1 miles. There are several well marked loops, with mileage marked on the park map. We made the longest route we could, without taking out-and-backtrack spurs. Trail surface is very easy: level and soft pine needles, with boardwalks to cross brooks and wet areas.

The trail became a little less traveled and more remote after crossing Pleasant Valley Road, with some wet areas to hop w/o boardwalks. In this section we also ran into snow on the trail in many areas… a surprise after the warm spell and rain we had.

There is no hunting north of Pleasant Valley, while south allows it. As soon as we crossed the road, there were deer stands EVERYWHERE… so during hunting season don’t go to this side unless it is Sunday.

Trailhead: There is a large parking lot surrounded by ball fields, a nice playground, and a restroom building… but we saw no indication that a trailhead even existed here. If you are facing the restroom building look off to your right across the football field to see a trail kiosk. Trails are well blazed.

Route: Follow the Nature Trail (YELLOW) trail blazes. It starts to the left and crosses a wide path several times (this is also YELLOW and we used it on our return). When that ends at WHITE, turn right onto that (Pleasant Valley Trail). At Orange (Blueberry Flats), turn left and follow that loop. Take BLUE (Old Sands Trail) when you hit that. This will take you across Pleasant Valley Road.

Blue ends at the southern portion of WHITE (Pleasant Valley Trail). Turn left onto WHITE and take that loop (**it is slightly confusing here, we missed a trail section due to a downed tree blocking it and went down the connector trail without realizing at first, so keep an eye on where you are**). After looping around, stick on WHITE (Pleasant Valley Trail) to the Nature Trail (YELLOW) and follow the straight section back to the trailhead.

John A. Phillips Park – site: info, directions

John A. Phillips Preserve Trail Map - there were also some at the trail kiosk

We didn’t have time for a long or far away hike this weekend so we decided to try out Merrill Creek Reservoir in Washington, NJ. It’s about 50-60 minutes from central NJ (New Brunswich-ish area). It’s a nice park with easy hiking, well marked trails, and a very nice visitor center. There are some ruins of farm buildings along the trails near the visitor center.

Directions: 287 to 78W to exit 4, then meander through back roads… Get the detailed directions on the Merrill Creek site. Also, there is a trail map there.

6.7 miles. Trail surface is mostly easy, with some rocks/roots in areas. The end of the loop we did was very flat – mostly level dirt or gravel.

You could make the hike .9 miles longer if you added on the orange trail loop, and perhaps added a bit more if you overlapped some trail portions around the visitor center… but otherwise, that’s all the trail here.

ROUTE: RED – BLUE – YELLOW – BLACK.  We started from behind the visitor center and took trails that hugged the reservoir, then picked up the Perimeter Trail (BLACK). The trails are very well marked, and at intersections there were plaques with “you are here” maps.

Bathrooms are in the visitor center which opens at 10am… if you arrive early, try the boat launch area next to the visitor center which has a porta-john. There is also a porta-john by the NW1 Dike parking area (marked on the trail map).

Note: Once you exit off 78 we didn’t notice too many businesses like gas stations or food… on the way back we kept going on 678 and headed into Philipsburg and Rt22 (you’ll get back on 78 at exit 3)… because a peppermint mocha tastes mighty fine after hiking in the chilly fall air.

Wildlife spotted: a deer and a heron took off at the same time as we neared the bridge just as we got onto the Perimeter trail.

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. (GS about 35-45 min from central Jersey)

7.25 miles total (approx., our GPS decided to drop us at end of hike #2) 1st hike: 2 miles, 2nd hike: 5.25. Terrain is level, very easy to easy. 1st hike on boardwalks, 2nd hike had a lot of roots but no rocks. The trails on the 2nd hike can be pretty soggy (you are in a swamp) but they were not at all the day we went (probably due to our lack of rain).

We first stopped at the Wildlife Observation Center and walked the 2 miles of boardwalks through the swamp. There are several observation blinds to check out wildlife. It was mostly shady and the walking very easy on boardwalks or graded cinder beds… most all was wheelchair accessible. (note: the boardwalks are a mix of that new plastic recycled board, and older wood that can be slightly slippery when wet)

There is a kiosk here with a printed map, and an info center with brochures, as well as bathrooms. (online map/directions)

We then drove a few minutes down Long Hill Road to the Blue Trail’s small lot. There is a kiosk here but no paper maps, and no porta-john. We intended to follow the route in “Hiking New Jersey” so we’d printed out the map detail from the book. You can also get the park map online or use the one from the Observation Center.

The book had it as a 3.5 mile loop, but it was more like 5.25 miles . Not a big deal for us, but for a beginning hiker that might have been a bit of a surprise.  Also, the book’s map was off – unless we’re mistaken – a section was missing and the bridge in the wrong place.

Overall: The hikes were a mixed bag for us; the 1st hike with boardwalks was pretty, probably good for kids, but not really “hiking”. Blue Trail – a lot of it was just easy, level, hiking through not-that-scenic forest but then you’d come on an interesting or really lush area.

Wildlife spotted: Lots of turtles, and a bunch of tiny frogs (cricket sized), brown toads, and one garter snake. Both times as we approached the bridge on the Blue trail, the 7 or 8 turtles piled on a big rock all dove into the water at once… quite comical.

We were looking to do less driving during the holiday weekend. I didn’t have a lot of info on the park, it’s not in any of our books, no trail mileages to really gauge the park by… but it was only 30 minutes away so we didn’t have much to lose. Boy was it HOT though …. 95-ish and sunny HHHHOT. The weather has been brutal for hiking lately.

The park was just OK for trail interest and scenery. Other than walking by the reservoir on the RED trail… not too much to see. The hawk watch looks over a quarry. While interesting… it’s not the best view.  It’s certainly decent for a park in Central NJ, but it lacks ooomph.

This is a biking-allowed park and the trails are geared as such… some seemed to twist around more than needed. We find that a bit tedious to hike, but since there are less parks available for bikers than hikers in NJ…  it’s not really a complaint… just an observation.

Slight road noise throughout the park… you are never far from a road.

9.5 miles roundtrip (8.8 if we hadn’t got off track a bit) – easy to moderate trail surface. Hard-packed and rocky, but with loose, smaller rocks… easy to slide on. Minimal elevation changes.

Route: The park is split in sections but connectible by crossing roads. We first did the BLUE trail from the parking lot on Newman’s Lane (2 miles), then from the lot again, we took the RED trail along the Reservoir, crossed Chimney Rock Rd. to the ORANGE trail to Gilbride Road to the YELLOW trail.

The trails are somewhat confusing: there are ‘inner’ and ‘perimeter’ loops for each trail color, denoted by square signs (perimeter) and circle (inner). There are also “connector” trails blazed by a black C on white, but shown as a solid color of the main trail on the map. There are also unmarked trails not on the map.

Because of how the trails are on the map, it’s hard to describe our route… we’ve highlighted the trail map to show the route.

Map: print it out from the Washington Valley Park site; there was a kiosk with a map posted but no spot hold hold paper maps to take with you.

Parking:We took 287N to exit for Thompson Ave (think it was 13b). Took that north till it ends, and turn right onto Chimney Rock road. Left on Washington Valley Road. Left on Newman’s Lane. Parking is a large paved lot on the left, after you pass a bridge. The park site has directions from Rt. 22. There is another lot at the hawk watch.

Restroom: porta-john in the Newman’s Lane Lot. The lot by the hawk watch had nothing.

Wildlife spotted: a lone deer, then later a doe with two fawns, tons of fish and tadpoles in the East Branch Reservoir, and a 4 foot black snake hidden in a grassy trail that I nearly stepped on – yowza!

And unfortunately we had to finish putting out a campfire… we took a break on rocks overlooking the reservoir and smelled a faint whiff of campfire… we found a still smoldering fire putting off a decent amount of heat. “Luckily” we found several bottles laying by the water, and scrambled up and down the bank a few times to bring water up to it till it was out. Fires are not allowed at the park to start with, but to set one with everything being so incredibly dry is just mindbogglingly stupid.

7.5 miles – Easy-moderate… first half on the Highlands trail was more rugged than the 2nd half on the Pine Swamp trail. Ogden Railroad is flat, level, cinder path. A good shorter hike would be to just do the Pine Swamp Loop from the main parking lot; that would be 3.8 miles with options to bail along the way.

It was Memorial Day so we wanted to head away from the traffic and the beach. We thought we were taking a gamble going to Mahlon, as there are campgrounds there, but we only saw a handful of people.

The first part of this route has a view point at Headley Overlook of Lake Hopatacong and lots of greenery towards the east. The view is nice but somewhat limited and not as grand as some viewpoints in the state – but worth checking out anyway. The Pine Swamp loop has no views but is nice, easy hiking and passes the “highest point in Morris County” at 1395′.

We opted to take the Ogden Mine Railroad on the way back to check it out. We were concerned it could be a bad choice if the rail bed was out in full sun (it was in the upper 80s and very sunny out), but it turned out to be fully shaded. The surface was flat and level, and actually quite pretty as it passed several swampy areas. We even spotted a Great Blue Heron by the water, before it swooped off into the trees.

Route: Highlands Connector Trail (Black on Teal Diamond) to Highlands (TEAL diamond/Highlands tag) to Pine Swamp Trail (White) to Boulder Trail (unmarked) to Ogden Railroad (unmarked)

Parking: This route starts from the lot near Saffron Pond. Rt 287 to Rt 80 W. Exit 34 to Rt 15 North. Right onto Weldon Road. Large parking area is on the right. (You will first pass a park sign and driveway that goes to another lot)

Restrooms: Porta-john in the parking lot. There is another porta and camp-style restrooms (composting toilet in a building) at the picnic parking area, just after the trail crosses the road.

Map: There were maps in the kiosks, but it’s best to print one ahead just in case: Mahlon Dickerson Trail Map.