The Point Mountain Preserve is one of the nicest hikes in NJ. Yes, it’s over an hour from Trenton, but it’s well worth the trip. Why? It’s a bit more challenging, and frankly fun, than most NJ hikes, and takes you through diverse habitat including corn fields, woods, a trout stream, and an ancient rock fall. Kids will love the scrambling and the views. (Driving time is about 75 minutes, Rated for Intermediate to Experienced hikers depending on the trail selected)
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)
Lovely trail section of the Baldpate trail system, recently re-blazed with drainage improvements. Less steep than Summit or Switchback trails, but lovely in its own right. We suggest loop hike: Kusar Mountain to Copper Hill (either branch, western harder and wetter), to parking lot, then return via Kusar Mountain, which starts near high tension wires.
Ila Mae’s is a neo-soul restaurant that opened in the winter of 2013 in a charming storefront on the 300 block of Market Street. The menu is eclectic and slightly quirky. Sandwiches are generally featured: most come on a whole wheat torpedo roll or a wrap. There are many vegetarian options, and many meat sandwiches that feature vegetable fillings as well. There is an fairly extensive selection of fish (flounder, tilapia, salmon, whiting) served in sandwiches or dinner entrees.
Hurry Chutney is a newly opened restaurant next to Sam’s Club off Rte. 1 near Quakerbridge Road in “Princeton” (actually West Windsor). There’s a lot to like about Hurry Chutney, and some things that make me shudder. What’s to like? First, the food quality (in my limited exposure to it) seems quite high. Second, it’s the only Indian Restaurant in the area that serves Chaat on a regular basis.
Natural Edge creates useful, artistic objects out of minimally processed natural materials. If you have a serious interest in his work (and perhaps an intention to purchase something) give David a call or send him an email and arrange to visit his studio on Pearl Street, a gritty industrial block tucked between the Arena and the train station. It’s the sort of post-industrial ruin that’s the perfect space for an artist working with large, physical objects like tree limbs, and the sort of space that keeps the Trenton art scene sputtering along despite itself.
Roti comes from Trinidad: the cuisine of residents of South Asian descent. It refers to the bread, yes, but also the curried meal that comes with it (and often stuffed inside like a giant burrito).
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)
This is a 19 mile cycling route through rolling horse country which is about as good as it gets. If you’re an experienced cyclist, it’s the sort of ride that’s perfect to do fast. The pavement is great, there’s almost no traffic, and there are just enough hills to keep it interesting. For inexperienced cyclists, the rolling hills will be somewhat challenging, but not exhausting.
The goal was to find an outstanding road cycling route as close as possible to Trenton. It’s only 20 minutes away: starting at the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park parking lot next to the Washington Crossing bridge. With an extension, it’s about 21 miles (or you can cut it to 12 with a short cut and skipping the extension). Virtually all of the roads get very little traffic. None are ugly, some are downright bucolic with gorgeous horse farms and extended views.
This isn’t the most beautiful cycling route on this website. However, it is a reasonably pleasant 26.5 mile route that starts and ends within the City of Trenton. It’s a particularly good ride for someone who’s looking for a decent, regular training ride where you don’t want to take the time to drive to the start.
Sometimes you want a basic Italian meal: tasty, not too expensive, not too fancy. Mamma Rosa’s, only a few minutes out of town on Klockner Road in Hamilton fills the need.
In recent years, Princeton has gotten serious about preserving open space. Recently, Princeton added Witherspoon Woods to its park system and trail network. It’s only 40 acres, but it adds charming terrain and a slightly more challenging way to access the Mountain Lakes Preserve. I stumbled upon it by accident and fell in love with it. A wonderful introduction to “real hiking” for beginners, and a charming walk for everyone. (Driving time is about 25 minutes. Rated Beginner though the footing is rocky in places and can get muddy in wet season)
There aren’t many places in Trenton where you can get good food late. The Buzz is basically a bar, and stays open until 2 AM. It’s owned by a middle aged Polish couple, who are at the bar every night. She keeps the kitchen open for the “full menu” at least until 10 just about every night. If the joint is hopping, it might be a lot later. And then they have a “late night menu” that’s good at least until 1 AM.
Every year for 45+ years, Trenton’s charming, landmarked Mill Hill neighborhood spruces itself up and opens some of the most lovely homes in the neighborhood to perfect strangers. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to catch an intimate glimpse of urban living. Mill Hillians are a diverse and talented community, and the homes reflect their diversity of lifesytles, tastes, and expressions.
Goat Hill towers 400 feet above the Delaware River, and provides spectacular views of New Hope, Lambertville, and Bucks/Hunterdon counties. Local legend has it that Washington visited the site before he crossed the Delaware. Kids will love the views and will be intrigued by the history. (Driving time is about 25 minutes, Rated for Beginner to Experienced hikers, depending on where you go)
Just north of Mercer-Hunterdon County line is the Dry Run Creek trailhead, 20 minutes or so north of downtown Trenton by car. Maintained by the D&R Greenway Land Trust, it’s a delightful, 1.2 mile trail that descends into Dry Run Creek* and then climbs about 230 feet to 518 and another parking lot. There, if you look directly across the road, is the RockHopper Trail, which adds at least another 1.8 miles through the woods (Driving time 30 min or less; Suitable for Intermediate hikers due to elevation gain and occasional problems with trail blazes on the Rockhopper Trail)
How do you feel about a 4 mile loop hike on one of the country’s most hallowed historic sites, just 45 minutes from town? Valley Forge is only about 40 miles west of Trenton. Kids will love Valley Creek, and the historical buildings. (Driving time about 45 min if you miss traffic; Rated Beginner to Experienced depending on the route you select)
The Breden Preserve, 264 acres on Milford Bluffs, plus 30 acres preserved by the Nature Conservancy, provides a charming, and fairly easy walk to fabulous views of the river. (Driving time is 31-60 min, Rated Intermediate for elevation gain and because trails are poorly marked)
Amidst the suburban sprawl of the Rte. 1 corridor, it’s easy to view NJ’s slogan, “The Garden State” as little more than an anachronism. But head due south from Trenton on 206, and you soon find yourself in honest-to-goodness farmland that still supports truck farming. The Columbus Farmer’s market is one of the commercial centers of this area of NJ, and is itself a bit of an anachronism. But it seems to be thriving, offering a mix of produce, meats, and baked goods.
According to the Urban Dictionary, the term Hoagie is Philly slang for a sub sandwich. Italian men who lived on Hog Island (an island intersecting the Delaware and Schuylkyl Rivers) packed lunches made from large loaves of bread filled with meats — known as “hoggies.” Sometime by the end of WWII, the word transformed into … Continue reading Hog(ie) Wild→
The menu is a mix of old-line “red-sauce” Italian dishes, with a fair number of more ambitious items (and specials) mixed in. The quality is good. Prices are higher than the typical Trenton-area Italian eatery, though not exorbitant (e.g. $19 for chicken; $27 for a veal chop).
The preserve is great fun, with a fantastic loop hike at its core, which you can extend in various ways. There’s about 600 feet of cumulative elevation gain: some of the climbs are quite steep. There are also a couple of stream crossings. Usually you can just hop over stones to cross, but in high water, you may get your feet wet. (Driving time is about 75 minutes, though the drive, mostly on Rt. 29 is beautiful and stress free; Rated for Experienced hikers because of elevation gain and steepness)
Gennaro’s is a nicely turned out pizzeria and Italian restaurant in a newish strip mall where Nottingham Way and Rt. 33 converge in Hamilton Square (about 7.5 miles from Trenton). If for some reason you find yourself there, seeking sustenance amidst the soul-numbing suburban sprawl, by all means stop in for a pie. It’s really quite good. Nice, thin, crisp crust. Tomato “sauce”. Good quality cheese and toppings.
Bowman’s Hill has changed my life. Truly. If you read these pages at all regularly, you know I am an avid outdoorsman and hiker. But until I spent a couple of hours getting a guided tour of the Preserve in mid-April, I’d never focused on wildflowers. Now, whenever I go out for a walk (which is often) I can’t get them out of my consciousness. (Driving time is about 25 minutes; suitable for Beginner walkers)
Opposite the Mercer County Court House(s) on the 200 Block of S. Broad, LexiLu serves a brisk trade of lawyers, clerks, guards, and jurors from the courthouse, plus a smattering of Mill Hill residents and others passing through.
Trenton Social is the sort of hip, slightly upscale bar and restaurant that attracts a diverse crowd of Trenton’s movers and shakers. White, black, straight, gay, artists, artisans, performers, brokers and bankers… you’ll find them all hanging out at Trenton Social having a good time.
La Villa is a nondescript pizza restaurant in Morrisville, just over the bridge from Trenton. In addition to conventional pizza and a host of Italian cooking, La Villa features a “Chambersburg Style Tomato Pie”. And darned if it isn’t.
Evelynne Toth, the Licensed and Board Certified Acupuncturist who runs One Earth Acupuncture, is a woman with a mission, “I am passionate about the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine and making it widely accessible to the public. ” Her office is in a pleasant professional strip mall in nearby Bordentown, a 15 minute drive from … Continue reading Needlework→
This is a lovely ride through rolling countryside in and around Stockton and Lambertville. The Route passes within a 100 yards of the Woods Edge Wools Farm
This charming farm is located about a 30 minute drive north of Trenton. It makes for an incredible outing with kids to view the Llamas and Alpacas. Adults will find a visit fascinating as well, and will also enjoy the farm store which sells unique items, many hand made from the Alpaca and Llama wool. While not cheap, these items are priced lower than the equivalent quality in high end retail outlets.
The Sourlands is one of the few hiking spots close to Trenton where you can experience reasonable elevation gain, second only to the Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain. Yes, it is about 40 minutes away (compared to Baldpate’s 20 minutes) and in the Sourlands you gain up to about 350 vertical feet on the steepest trail (compared to Baldpate’s 425). But, the Sourlands have miles of reasonably challenging forest-hiking trails to enjoy… There are trails suitable for all levels of walkers from Beginner to Advanced. Beginners can do some short loop hikes near the parking lot, while Intermediate hikers have miles of trails in the southern section with moderate grades. (Driving time is 40 min; Rated Beginner to Experienced depending on where you go)
Mariachi Grill (not to be confused with El Mariachi) serves Tres Leches, a fabulous dessert made from sponge cake and traditionally three different kinds of milk: whole, condensed, and evaporated (plus a whipped cream topping). It’s the best I’ve ever had. And I love Tres Leches. For me, there’s no more to be said.
I suppose most people who live here, and many who are just exploring for the first time, know Trenton is located between New York and Philly. If, like me, you were NY focused before you moved here, you may not know that Philly is a) unbelievably close (34 miles, city center to city center), and b) a really, really cool place to visit.
The Switchback Trail delivers 425 vertical feet by itself, and you can achieve a cumulative elevation gain of nearly 1,000 vertical feet (well, OK, 950) by combining it with other trails. There’s no other walk of which I’m aware that delivers anything like that much vertical elevation gain within an hour’s drive of Trenton. Congrats to the Mercer County Park people for doing this. (Driving time is about 20 minutes; Rated Experienced for elevation gain)
Looking for fresh, organic, local vegetables and fruits? Honey Brook Organic Farm, located in nearby Pennington in the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Reserve, is the oldest organic farm in New Jersey, founded in 1991. And they DELIVER TO TRENTON, dropping off boxes of “shares” weekly at a home in the Mill Hill section, where (if you live in Trenton) you can pick it up easily.
The Hummingbird is a Jamaican restaurant downtown in the Warren Street revival area. And just as any decent Italian eatery in the ‘Burg used to have a photo of Frank Sinatra on the wall, the Hummingbird celebrates Bob Marley with a large poster in the dining room. Something of Marley’s spirit seems to inhabit the place, which has great food and a pleasant atmosphere.
El Chapin is a new Guatemalan restaurant at the corner of Cass and Lamberton Streets, within spitting distance of Waterfront Park. The specialty of the house is charcoal grilled rotisserie chicken, and it’s really, really, really good.
If you’re like me, a marsh may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of outdoor excursions (I generally think of mountains and trout streams), but then you’d be missing one of the most fascinating natural resources in the area. (Driving time is about 20 min; Rated for Beginner walkers, though be prepared for wet footing)
