Tag Archives: Winter Walks

Particularly nice to walk in the winter, with a bit on snow on the ground. Read our Winter Hiking comments for more info

Buried Treasure and Sights Unseen (Goat Hill Park Bushwhack)

Goat Hill Park was acquired in 2009 by the State of NJ, and is managed as a satellite park of Washington Crossing. It is potentially one of the most spectacular hiking destinations in central NJ, but budget and regulatory constraints have blocked the state from developing it. It’s a pity. Of course, if you’re willing to bushwhack, you can still go exploring.


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Nocka-Rocka Scramble (Haycock Mountain at Nockamixon State Park)

Haycock Mountain is an entertaining, short hike (only about 0.75 mile from the trailhead to summit). You gain 460 vertical feet in this distance, which puts the average gradient about 12%, though the hike gets a fair bit steeper as you approach the summit. The payoff is the scramble: from roughly the midpoint of the hike to the summit, you’re picking your way through giant boulders. The short length and scrambly nature of the hike makes it particularly entertaining for experienced hiker-kids. It does require experienced hiker-adults to accompany them because the trail is poorly blazed, and appears as if it was never officially marked. (Driving time is just about an hour; rated for experienced hikers for elevation gain, scrambly nature, and poor blazing).


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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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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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A Revolutionary Observation (Goat Hill Park)

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)


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Variety is the… (Musconetcong Gorge Preserve)

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)


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Vertical Elevation Gain (Sourlands Preserve)

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)


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Most Aerobic Walk (Switchback Trail at Baldpate Mountain)

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)


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Communing with Einstein (The Institute Pond and Woods)

Little known, but open to the public, is a lovely pond and woods on the campus of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, about a 20 minute drive north of Trenton. The pond supports solid populations of fish. It abuts the Institute Woods, which is transected by old woods roads which can be used as hiking trails (and cross-country skiing if there’s been a good snow fall) (Driving time is about 20 minutes; rated for Beginner hikers. Trails are flat and easy walking, though poorly marked. Be sure to bring a trail map).


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