Category Archives: Birding

We’re not birders ourselves, but if we’re out hiking and notice geeky people carrying binoculars and stumbling on the trails while scanning the tree-line, we take notice and record the location here (just kidding, mostly).

History’s for the Birds (Jockey Hollow & Scherman Hoffman Sanctuary)

Much less well known than Valley Forge, Jockey Hollow was where Washington’s army spent the winter of 1777, following its victories in Trenton and Princeton. There’s a beautiful, Intermediate hike through some of the National Park that preserves the area, and part of the NJ Audubon Society sanctuary. It climbs a ridge, passes the camp site of the NJ Brigade, and descends into the headwaters of the Passaic River, here a small wild trout stream. (Driving time is about 1:15 from Trenton via 206/I-287; rated Intermediate for elevation change though the hike is fairly steep in spots)


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Cushy It’s Not (Cushetunk Mountain Preserve)

Cushetunk offers two different hiking options. If you park at Old Mountain Road in Lebanon, it’s an intense 2.4 mile loop hike that includes a fairly strenuous scramble along a 0.9 mile ridgeline and an elevation gain of about 450 feet. If you park on Mountain Rd, in Whitehouse Station, the hike is about 7.5 miles and 1,100 cumulative vertical feet. (Driving time is about 70 min, Rated for Experienced hikers for elevation gain, rugged footing, and poor blazing)


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Coastal Caper (Hartshorne Woods Park)

Hartshorne Woods is a magical place for walking or mountain biking (or fishing or birding), located on the highest coastal escarpment on the Atlantic seaboard south of Maine. A little over an hour from Trenton, east of Red Bank, and opposite Sandy Hook, it makes a wonderful half-day excursion in its own right, or combined with a half-day at the beach. Kids will love the lush terrain so close to the ocean, and the military anachronisms such as the WWII pillboxes (Driving time is about 75 minutes; Rated Intermediate for cumulative elevation gain)


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On the Beech (Carson Road Woods)

Carson Road Woods is a superb, 183 acre swathe of preserved farmland less than 15 minutes from downtown Trenton. Unlike many such preserves, the land has several miles of walking trails, and some stunning stands of trees. The preserve is a mix of woodlands and open fields, with mowed walk-ways along the margins. In a few places, trails are cut through stands of trees, including, notably, a stunningly beautiful stand of beech.


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