Detailed hike info and directions on our Woods of Wenonah page.

We decided to check out this small park as part of our South Jersey Sampler – we were in the area for some post-holiday gatherings, so we had hiked Estelle Manor the day before, spent the night in Williamstown, and hit Wenonah on the way to the Turnpike.

The Woods of Wenonah is a U-shaped wooded area that surrounds the town of Wenonah. It has several short trails, with access paths that lead off into neighborhoods. It’s not remote by any means, as houses are visible along most of the route. It’s a nice little park though, and we felt the Comey’s Lake area was the prettiest part.

If you are in the South Jersey, this is certainly worth a visit. It’s hillier than you usually get in southern Jersey, and it’s not in the Pine Barrens. For those in north Jersey with all the rugged hiking surrounding you… it’s probably not worth driving down to this park.

Oddly, we only ran into a handful of people on the trail. It was chillier this day than the warm weather we had the day before, so maybe that is why… but we’d assume this trail has to normally be full of joggers/walkers/dog-walkers. It has such great access for the people in the town to walk out their street and have a nice trail right there to use. Hey, all towns should have hiking trails attached to them, right?

The trails aren’t blazed, but marked with signposts at intersections. There are a few spots that it was a little difficult to figure where to go, so we recommend picking up or sending for the trail map.

Miles: 6.0 – [This is combining every trail, most individual trails are under 1 mile.]

Parking: N39 47.922 W75 09.138 [Wenonah Lake lot, which is not marked as parking on the trail map!?]

Route: Wenonah Lake Trail – Break Back Run Trail – Mantua Creek Trail – Monongahela Brook Trail – Eldridge Trail – Monongahela Brook Loop Trail – Eldridge Trail – Comey’s Lake Trail – Eldridge Trail – Monongahela Brook Trail – Mantua Creek Trail – Break Back Run Trail

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”.

Complete hike details found on the South Mountain Reservation page.

With mild weather in the forecast for Jersey – in the mid-50′s in December! – we had to go hiking. Sometimes, you just need to ditch things and go for a hike.

Our compromise was heading to a park under an hour away, where we could get a moderate hike in while leaving the rest of the afternoon open to attempt to be mildly productive. We’d been saving South Mountain Reservation for just such a situation.

This park is similar to Watchung Reservation and northern Jersey terrain, moderate, somewhat rocky trails. It’s also surrounded closely by development and has some traffic noise so it does not have the remote feeling that many of northwestern NJ’s trails do. It is unfortunately marred by graffiti on some rocks near streams as well as around Hemlock Falls.

But still, it’s a nice park and an easy getaway for a large portion of New Jersey. There is a viewpoint from Washington Rock (where a signal beacon warned the Army at Morristown of the British Army’s approach),  Hemlock Falls (a popular waterfall destination, though we had it to ourselves this morning) and a hike along the Rahway River. The other end of the park also contains Turtleback Zoo.

We kept to the hiking trails, but there are many easy, unmarked woods roads and that is mostly what people were using (lots of dog walkers and people out for a stroll on these wide, level trails). This route uses part of the 40-mile Lenape Trail.

*The park is non-hunting except for some days in Jan. and Feb. [haven't seen 2012 dates but in 2011 it was Tuesdays and Thursdays]

Miles: 6.1 miles

Parking: N40 43.699 W74 18.253 [Locust Grove Parking Area]
Under an hour from central NJ, New Brunswick-ish area.

Route: Lenape Trail (YELLOW) – Rahway (WHITE)

Holiday Bonus: There is an evergreen tree decorated with Christmas ornaments at the Washington Rock viewpoint.

Wildlife spotted: 5 deer bounding away over a hill.

Snack Time: Clif Bar recently sent us this cute little box with some samples (because somewhere along the way we subscribed to their newsletter or signed up for samples) We tried the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bar. Verdict: 2 thumbs up; we’d buy it. It was slightly sweeter than some of their other flavors but had nice taste. And let’s face it… can you go wrong when combining white chocolate and macadamia nuts?

After a few weekend obligations and my nagging cold kept us from getting in any hikes other than a couple jaunts at Cheesequake, we were happy to get back out this weekend.

Since we were dog-sitting in south Jersey we took advantage of having lodging only about a half hour from Belleplain (normally would be about 2 hrs from central NJ). Bela is an avid hiker, but at age 15 with cranky joints is now retired from long hikes, so we couldn’t take her along (although she’d still try and hike all day if you let her!)

Belleplain State Forest is in the New Jersey Pine Barrens… so it’s all endless pine and Atlantic white cedar – quite different from the north part of NJ. South Jersey is also flat as a pancake so the hiking is easy.

We parked at the Interpretive Center by Lake Nummy and picked up the East Creek Trail from there. The trail is typical pine barrens but with several wet crossings to manage (even small sections of water are the distinctive tea-color of the area).

Other than Lake Nummy at the start/end of this hike, they are no views until East Creek Pond along Rt. 347, and again of the pond later as the trail finally skirts near the water… just once. It’s a nice hike still.

Miles: 7.2. Easy, flat, packed sand trails, negligible elevation changes. There are several long boardwalks over wet areas, but also a few deep wet areas without them that were tricky to cross.

Parking: N39 14.702 W74 51.468 (Lake Nummy trailhead parking area)

Route: East Creek Trail (WHITE)

Wildlife spotted: Nada. We weren’t lucky enough to spot any bald eagles this time.

Misc: In addition to the campground, the East Creek Cabin is a large rental unit with bunks, bathroom, kitchen etc that sits right on the pond. We’ve been to a couple gatherings there and it’s pretty fun. Many years ago we spotted our first bald eagle – ever – while canoeing on the pond.

History Stuff: The Civilian Conservation Corps
When reading up on parks in NJ, the Civilian Conservation Corps is often mentioned as having built this structure or planted this grove of trees etc.

Many of New Jersey’s parks and forests benefited from this depression-era New Deal program that combined unemployment-relief with conservation efforts. In a nutshell, unemployed young men joined work camps around the country and were paid $30 a month (with $25 of that going back to help their family at home).

The results of their hard work is still enjoyed today. In Belleplain, for example, CCC workers turned a cranberry bog into Lake Nummy, built many of the park’s structures and roads, and improved the forest. For a little more info about the CCC check out:

• The Civilian Conservation Corps: A Legacy Lives On In New Jersey’s State Parks – nice 2-page summary on NJ CCC
• Brief History of the CCC
• High Point State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps (NJ) - Images of America book
• My CCC Days – memoir of day-to-day CCC life by Frank C. Davis

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.

Complete hike details found on the Green Lane Park page.

Decided on Green Lane Park in southeastern Pennsylvania in an attempt to find some fall foliage, and it ended up being a good choice. While open areas like the highways on the way or around the water were past peak or had mostly leaf drop, in the forest on the trails themselves the leaves were gorgeous.

We’d never been to this park before, so we decided to follow a book (AMC’s Best Day Hikes Near Philadelphia) instead of trying to whip up our own route.

We did end up modifying the route on the fly, and if we went here again I think we’d start at another lot around the reservoir instead of the Snyder Lane parking lot. We didn’t care for walking through the general use area to get to the trails, plus it was somewhat confusing.

This park is multi-use and allows horses. There was some manure and the trails were torn up a bit with deep mud in spots. Hikers have many more options than equestrians do for trails, and we really didn’t find it to be a big deal. But it’s worth a mention as I’d read some negative comments online in regards to that. We saw just two horses all day, but in summer surely there are more.

Green Lane Park Site

Green Lane Park Trail Map

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).

Not sure how long this trail has been around or if it’s technically ‘open’ quite yet, but it was well blazed and even had nice “you are here” map plaques throughout the trail. There were a lot of thorns crossing the path… so wear long pants unless you’d like to rival my impressive collection of calf scratches (I need to accept that the weather is changing and I should retire my fave hiking knee pants until spring)

The first view on the map isn’t much, but the second is a very nice view of the Delaware Water Gap. If you’ve ever hiked to the summit of either Mt. Minsi or Mt. Tammany you can see where you were. To this viewpoint and back would make a nice easy 3.4 mile roundtrip hike.

The rest of the trail has no views but is through a nice forest that has the feel of being remote, even though you pop out and cross country roads several times.

Be sure to wear blaze orange or something bright. While the trail itself was marked with “safety zone” signs, there were several deer stands just a short distance off the trail. Check Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season for more info.

Parking: N40 54.720 W74 55.507 – this a 2nd lot in the main visitor area of Jenny Jump S.F. itself.  There is one easy-to-spot trailhead sign at the end of a large lot. For restrooms, go right down the road a sec to the other trail lot. There are also other parking areas along the Jenny Jump Trail that are marked on the map.

Miles: 11.4. To Lake Justit Road and back.

Route: Jenny Jump Trail (BLUE) out and back.

Jenny Jump State Forest Trail Map

Books: Not in any books yet that we’re aware of.

Wildlife Spotted: Near a dam of sorts a small snake and I startled each other. It jumped (slithered? threw itself?) into the water from the cement structure we were on. The water had a decent current so it swam in place, head poking out of the water, for a moment before getting enough momentum to swim away. Between being surprised and marveling at how adorable it looked swimming like that… I did not get a photo.

On the way back we ran into another small snake across the trail. Managed to get a great shot… it’s times like that that makes lugging our SLR around all day worth it.

While looking to ID the snake, I found this video on an Eastern Garter Snake. The UMDHGIC YouTube channel has more short, informative videos about snakes too.

Normally when we hike Minsi we just keep going south along the AT then backtrack, and come back via the Minsi fire road which makes for a nice long hike (16.6 mile version here). Or sometimes we “Mind The Gap”… hiking both Mt. Minsi and Mt. Tammany in one day. And of course, you can just hike Mt. Minsi itself for a wonderful 5.1 mile trip.

This time we decided to change it up. Sometimes with really familiar routes you overlook things, and there were areas on the Kittatinny Trails Map we realized we’d never checked out…

Total Miles: 7.4

HIKE 1: Mt. Minsi
MILES: 5.6
PARKING: N40 58.790 W75 08.539 no facilities
ROUTE: Appalachian Trail (WHITE) – Mt. Minsi Fire Road.

HIKE 2: Arrow Island Trail
MILES: 1.8
PARKING: N40 57.499 W75 07.276 no facilities
ROUTE: Arrow Island (WHITE) from Arrow Island parking to the lot on National Park Road.

Hike 1…. After hiking to the Mt. Minsi summit and the viewpoint along the ridge, we turned around and headed down the fire road like usual, but part-way back we took an unmarked trail on the right that lead around Lake Lettini. This was just OK, a pleasant forest walk but not much to see really. You can skip it.

A bit further down Minsi fire road, we took a left on an unmarked woods road. A little ways down there is a short trail that leads to a nice water cascade. The wood road heads up and around to Table Rock… a large expanse of exposed rock.

After Table Rock the woods road becomes a trail and eventually the Minsi fire road is visible below, and then approaches above Lake Lenape (the lake passed in the beginning of the hike). The trail drops down to the lake and a picnic table, then around the lake before heading back to the parking lot. This way back was quite nice and worth taking.

We left the Mt. Minsi lot and continued east on Rt. 611, stopping on a lot on the right side for a view of Mt. Tammany and Indian Head. A little further is the lot for Arrow Island.

Hike 2… There is a small lot, no facilities, and a small wood sign marking the trailhead. The Arrow Island trail heads uphill from the start, but for a short ways. Turn left at the top of the hill and keep following the WHITE blazes. The trail runs above the road and highway noise was loud, and the trail is not that great.

It became nicer near a stream, but overall the trail is faintly blazed, hard to see, and just less than enthralling. So much so, that when we got to to the parking lot at the other end, we decided to just backtrack and not explore the Slateford Loop. Eh, you can skip this trail. If we were to check it out again, we’d start at the other lot and do the Slateford Loop from there.

Old-Timey Fun: Whilst poking around the web I recently stumbled upon some Google Books (free) about the Delaware Water Gap from the 1800′s. Mentions of taking your horse carriage out alone make it worth a look, but the old fashioned prose is a hoot too. The 2nd link below contains photos from around the Gap.

“Summit of Mt. Minsi… do not be persuaded that the ascent of the Summit is too difficult. Hundred of ladies and gentleman have gone before you, and few have regretted the undertaking. The journey is somewhat tiresome, and at places a little difficult; but, by resting occasionally, it can be overcome without great fatigue.”

The Delaware Water Gap: its scenery, its legends, and its early history. 1867

Delaware Water Gap – Photographs in Black. 1892

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 graves from the 1800s and of Civil War veterans. There is a waterfall a bit off the Red Cross trail, and another area with cascades near the road.

The rest of the trail is just nice hiking, typical of Harriman (there really isn’t a bad trail choice in this park). Because it crosses park roads several times, there is some road noise but it’s not bad.

8.8 miles. Moderate. One steep uphill and a small scramble right in the beginning, then just moderate after that. A decent amount of this trail was  tight with bushes and dense undergrowth, and some blind curves – be sure to be talking, making noise, clapping etc to alert any bears in the area that you are comin’ through.

ROUTE: Arden-Surebridge (Red Inverted Triangle) – Red Cross – Beech (Blue) – Long Path

NOTES: Harriman has lots of woods roads so pay attention to the colored blazes at intersections. The viewpoint over Lake Skannatati is just past the start of Red Cross, so backtrack to Red Cross after the viewpoint. The viewpoint was obvious, Red Cross trail… not as much. Approaching Tiorati Brook Road, it’s easy to miss that the Red Cross trail veers to the right, and is overgrown. After crossing the road, into an overgrown field, the next trail marker is hard to spot. Head across the field and toward the left and there is a little opening in the brush. Cross the stream and there is a waterfall to the left, off the trail.

MAP/BOOK – You’ll want the Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails map set. This hike is on map # 119. For detailed descriptions, mileage charts, and historical info for all Harriman Trails, Harriman Trails: A Guide and History is really nice to have too (and a new version just came out in 2010)

Parking: N41 14.495 W74 06.146 -  Parkway to the NY border, pick up the NY State Thru-Way North to exit 15a. Take 17N, turn right onto Seven Lakes Drive.

Trail head is in the parking lot for Lake Skannatati and Lake Askoti, which is just past the Kanawauke Circle, on the left. The Arden-Surebridge trail starts from the entrance end of the lot (on the right if you are facing the water). No facilities; the ones at the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center as you enter the park (open weekends and holidays) is probably your best bet. (soda machine there as well)

Wildlife spotted: Fishies in Lake Askoti, bullfrogs at the mine (in some seriously murky and stagnant water); and a ton of deer.

We came upon two laying in a grassy area, just chillin’. They finally got up and wandered off nonchalantly as we passed… probably annoyed that we interupted their picnic. Later, when we sat down for snacks, we looked up to see a deer staring back at us. He milled around doing deer things, ignoring us, as we ate our trail mix.

Other randomness: This was our first test hike with our new GPS – a Garmin 62S. We’d been putting our 60cs through the ringer for about 10 years now, it was time to upgrade. So far, we’re really happy with the 62s. It feels solid and very responsive, and the reception is way better than 60cs, which tended to drop satellites in a lot of tree cover or near rocks (and drove us a little bonkers). Amazon usually has the best price on this, and the only issue we have is that the price dropped after we bought ours – of course.

The parking lot of PEEC sits in the center of the area’s trails so a hike can be cut short if storms roll in (or if you’ve decided you’d had enough of romping around in the heat/humidity!) There are a variety of trails of different lengths, or combine all to make about a 7.5 mile route.

The Ridgeline trail (YELLOW) didn’t have any views, but perhaps they are seasonal. It was a little buggy in the low areas. There is a very steep section on Ridgeline that has a rope to assist. It could be scrambled down w/o the rope, however. (but you may want to use the rope on a sheer, flat rock section anyway – just to channel your inner Batman)

There are two small waterfalls on the RED trail, and a larger, very nice one on the Tumbling Waters trail (ORANGE). There is also a water cascade into a gorge near the Tumbling Waters waterfall. Either direction to the Tumbling Waters waterfall involves up and down a steep hill, twice. There is also a viewpoint on the Tumbling Waters trail, and the trail passes Pickerel Pond on the way back.

MILES: 7.5 (about; our GPS was hating the tree cover and dropped out a few times)

ROUTE: RED (Scenic Gorge) – YELLOW (Ridgeline) – RED/YELLOW – BLUE (Fossil Outcrop) – ORANGE (Tumbling Waters) – ORANGE/WHITE

Wildlife spotted: Frog (who patiently posed for us while we zoomed in for a nice shot), and heard some deer “bark” as they ran off. We knew that deer do that, but that was the first time we’d actually heard it in all our years of rambling around outside.

The Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) - site, and directions.

PEEC Hiking Trails – trail map