Detailed hike info and directions on our Estelle Manor Park page.

The weekend after New Years we found ourselves in southern Jersey for post-holiday gatherings two nights in a row, and took advantage of hotel stays to check out some smaller parks we wouldn’t normally drive down to: Estelle Manor Park and then Wenonah Woods the next day. We even lucked out with a gorgeous upper-50s day.

We hit Estelle Manor Park on our way out of Atlantic City. Trails here are super easy – flat, level, packed sand typical of Jersey’s Pine Barrens. This park is more of a ‘hey let’s go for a walk or have a picnic” kinda park and not a remote hiking destination but it’s worth a visit. A big highlight of this park is the long section of boardwalk called the Pine Swamp Trail.

The trails are not really blazed, there are some directional signage at junctions… so it’s a bit vague. Make sure you print out a trail map or pick up one at the nature center.

There is also a nature center, playground, picnic areas, bike rentals, fields, etc. The trails are multi-use and the north section is a mountain bike trail. The easy trail surface here may make this a good choice when snow is on the ground.

Miles: 6.5 [actual miles: 7.4 due to a wrong a wrong turn in the mountain bike section]

Parking: N39 23.895 W74 44.565

Route: Pond Trail – Exercise Trail – Point Trail – Cribbers Road – Swamp Trail – Smokeless Powder Trail – Duck Farm Trail – North End Trail

Bombs Away!!!: This area was used as a munitions plant in WWI, check out some history and photos about the Bethlehem Loading Company.

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.

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 totally moved to the side, but the area itself wasn’t wet (it usually is). And other areas that are soggy on a good day, were no problem to pass. A lot of sand had been washed into these areas, and it had the effect of actually making the areas easier to cross. We had expected to see flooded areas and destroyed boardwalks/bridges, but even the normally wet areas around Hooks Creek Lake were fine.

5-ish miles, roughly… we didn’t take the GPS as we’ve been there soooo many times.

Route: YELLOW – walk around Hooks Creek Lake (not blazed) – walk across beach/playground to crabbing bridge -  Perrine Road (a dirt woods road) – BLUE around Perrine Pond – BLUE/Perrine Road – RIGHT on GREEN – GREEN back to lot

Cheesequake State Park Trail Map

**Bow hunting is allowed for the 2011 season at Cheesequake. This park used to be one of the few places in NJ you could count on to just go for a hike and not worry during hunting season. I don’t think a lot of people were aware of it, as we were the only 2 people wearing blaze orange.

Now, Cheesequake is not a large park, and in looking at the map there aren’t a lot of outer areas for hunters to be in that aren’t crossed by trails. While we assume that most hunting is done in the early A.M. so it’s not probably not an issue, we did see a hunter vehicle parked on Perrine right before the trail junction with GREEN around noonish. The campground also appeared to be full of hunters.

At any rate, heads up when you hike there and consider wearing some blaze orange… or dig your 80′s neon garb out of the closet.

Wildlife spotted: Three deer, and a ton of fiddler crabs by the crabbing bridge. I don’t know it we’ve just never noticed them before, or the water level was different and they were out… very interesting to watch them interact.

It’s also mostly in shade, so that is where we headed on another hot day. The multi-use trail (walk/bike/horse) is easy, mostly level  (slightly uphill going from High Bridge) and covered in crushed gravel. We prefer it for biking, but it would be good for easy hiking as well.

30 miles. We started at High Bridge and did the entire trail to Bartley, then back.  A nice shorter route would be High Bridge to Califon, and back, at about 10.2 miles roundtrip.

The trail does cross a few roads, some busier than others. There are also a few sections that go on the road through a town or in a neighborhood, but they are short. The most scenic part of the trail is from High Bridge through Ken Lockwood. The rest is nice too, but just not quite as scenic (but there were less people too – not that the trail was that crowded to start with).

There is a confusing section of the trail, where it’s missing in Long Valley, marked “proposed” on one of the maps. We had to ride on Fairview Av for a bit, but we didn’t see any markings indicating that, other than a few Highlands Trail markings (Columbia is concurrent with Highlands here). We rode to Gillette Park on the right, and took a short trail there to meet back up with the Columbia.

On the way back we kept going past Gilette until there was a sign indicating to turn right (it appeared to be a construction site ahead they didn’t want you going through). We rode uphill on a stone driveway back to Fairview Av. We’d passed this on the way, but it just looked like a driveway with a name plaque and all.

The only slight downside is that end of the trail in Bartley is pretty anti-climatic… a pullout for a few cars off the road, trail sign and gate, and a couple large rocks we had our snack on before heading back.

Parking lot in High Bridge: N40 40.168 W74 53.781  Directions here. There are porta-johns in the High Bridge Municipal Lot, but didn’t see any others the rest of the way.

Books with Ken Lockwood Gorge info:“Hiking New Jersey”, New Jersey Walk Book, “Hiking the Jersey Highlands”

Bonus: On the way out of High Bridge heading back to the highway is Gronsky’s Milk House. We had the “chocolate peanut butter revel” ice cream - seriously tasty.

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Betty the Bike has two nice, detailed articles on the trail:

Columbia Trail, New Jersey – the High Bridge to Califon ride

Columbia Trail, NJ (Long Valley to Califon ride)

Trail Maps, etc:

Columbia Trail: Hunterdon County Section – High Bridge to Crestmoore

Columbia Trail: Morris County Section – Crestmoore to Bartley

Columbia Trail Map - entire trail, in 3 sections

Columbia Trail Brochure – from Hunterdon County Parks

Columbia Rail Trail – from GPS Trail Source

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 miles at Tillman Ravine, followed by Millbrook – Van Campens Glen.

Tillman Ravine is flat out gorgeous and is an easy, short hike with a rushing stream, and plenty of water cascades.

This is a small area, and you really aren’t going to get lost – it’s fine to just stroll and wander around… but you might want to print out this Tilman Ravine Map – it’s the best detail of the trail we found online. It’s a photo of the map that is behind the glass at the trail kiosk, courtesy of www.danbalogh.com. There weren’t any printouts at the kiosk, don’t think there usually is.

From the 1st parking lot (coming from the direction of Millbrook) we headed left onto the Perimeter trail (noted by rectangles) and meandered in a sort of figure-8.

Past the “teacup” (a pool of water, marked on the map) and where we’d turn to head back to the lot, we instead followed the unmarked path to Walpack Cemetery (noted by “C” on the map). When you arrive at the dirt road, turn right and the cemetery is there. Retrace your route back to Tillmans and and finish the Perimeter trail back to the lot.

The cemetery can be visited by car, and in fact we drove past it on the way in. The unmarked path from Tillman’s Ravine to Walpack Cemetery is quite pleasant, however, and worth the stroll. The gravestones date to the 1800′s.

There are two parking lots for Tillmans, with a rustic latrine at each one.

Stokes State Forest - park site

Stokes State Forest Map (Tilman parking is noted on this, but not the actual trail)

Kittatinny Trails Map Set (Trail is on this, but it’s hard to tell enough detail to follow)

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 Cove. You could tack on another mile and make it 6.9 if you take the Bear Swamp Connector trail out and back (it just goes to a small park, so we skipped it).

This is a popular place, with tons of joggers and handful of bikers/walkers. The trail surface is small crushed gravel and level. It’s easy to navigate as the unmarked loop simply follows around the reservoir.

We parked at the Environmental Center, but there is a smaller lot just past that (Chestnut Point) as well as a main visitor center lot. Bathrooms and trail maps are available at Enviro and the Main lots, and we noticed a portable toilet as we walked by the Chestnut Point lot.

The Perimeter Trail can be picked up from any of those lots. We took it from the entrance of the Enviro lot and turned right, following along the road and over the dike. Near the end of the hike, we turned left onto the Cove trail, which is pedestrian only and we had that to ourselves. This leads back to the Enviro Center lot.

Manasquan Reservoir Park Site – info, directions

Manasquan Reservoir Trail Map – the online map was slightly older than the one at the trail kiosk, which shows a few changes in the cove trail as well as marking it green, and shows the connector path to Oak Glen Park.

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

But, somehow, we never had in all our years of hiking. Mainly because the New
Jersey Walk Book listed it as having only a 1.5 mile trail, and driving an hour for 1.5 miles just isn’t our thing. I decided to look into it again recently and found that there are trails in addition to the 1.5 marked nature trail. I also found Jakes Branch County Park right down the street so we decided to do both in the same day.

The trails are actually sand roads to service the cranberry bogs. It’s interesting walking around and between the bogs… but it’s not really what we consider hiking. It’s better for a little stroll or taking the dog for a walk, but fine for a cold weather hike too. Some of the sand roads were still covered in packed snow or ice, even though there wasn’t much snow elsewhere.

The sand roads are unmarked, so have the map with you – though it’s pretty easy to figure where you are at any time.

We did the 2.25 mile Perimeter trail and the 1.25 mile Reservoir Sawmill Loop.

The Perimeter trail goes through the center of the village, and around the cranberry bogs.

The Sawmill Loop passes a little cemetery for the Crabbe family, and ends up at Mill Pond Reservoir. The return portion of the loop was the most interesting section as it was actually a trail through dense pine (as opposed to a sand road), and running next to a creek.

The 1.5 nature trail is an inner loop of the park and overlaps some of the Perimeter trail, so we didn’t do that one. On the map there is also a note of “to Lacey Road 2.5 miles”, so there is an option of doing an out-and-back on that too.

Double Trouble State Park - Park info. There is a historic village with buildings to tour, an active cranberry farm, and canoe/kayak access.

Double Trouble Trail Map – Print out ahead, didn’t see a copy with the other brochures.

Double Trouble Nature Trail Guide

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. The visitor/nature center is large with nice displays and looks brand spanking new.

Be sure to head up the center’s observation deck for a view of the park from 5 stories up (this is ADA accessible with an elevator and automatic door). The pines around the park are visible, as well as the hanger the Hindenburg was kept in is viewable in the distance.

The trailhead is marked with a big sign and maps, to the right of the visitor center. We took the BLUE Tindey Trail which is a big loop. To cut things shorter, take one of the sand roads or the RED trail.

All trails are VERY well marked (even the intersections with sand roads have posts with names), and the map is easy to follow… it would be hard to get lost here. Trail is typical pine barrens and is easy and flat, with no real viewpoints. There is traffic noise due to being right off the Parkway.

The trail is very suitable for beginners, or for anyone looking for a quick hike or trail run. It’s not for someone looking for a challenge or long hike. We did pass a WHITE trail that was not on the map, so it’s possible there is a new trail that could add some distance. Since we planned on hitting Double Trouble that day, we opted to not check it out this time.

Restrooms are located in the visitor center. (They are accessed by an outside entrance so it’s possible the restrooms could be available when the park opens at 7am, before the center is open).

Jakes Branch County Park site – directions, info

Jakes Branch County Park Trail Map