Using Trail Tracker for Your NJ Outdoor Adventures

We had a taste of warmer weather recently and some snow coming back this week. The former is good for a trail walk or hike, and the latter may be better for some planning.

The State Park Service launched Trail Tracker at the end of 2017 which is an app that helps park visitors make detailed plans tailored to trails, activities, and terrain that interest them. It is available through Google Play, the Apple app store and the Microsoft app store.

It was developed by the Division of Parks and Forestry’s Geographic Information System (GIS) department as part of a project to map and highlight amenities in the state park system. The state park system boasts nearly 1,000 miles of officially designated trails.

Batso Trail in Wharton

Our NJ park system is comprised of 50 parks, forests recreation areas and marinas, from High Point State Park in Sussex County to Cape May State Park at the southernmost tip of the state.

Hiking opportunities range from the rocky woodlands of the Highlands and Skylands regions to secluded sojourns through coastal marshes, Revolutionary War battlefields, and Pine Barrens forests. Some trails are designated for foot traffic only while others also accommodate bicyclists and horseback riders.

Trail Tracker NJ quick start guide (pdf)

Start 2018 With a First Day Hike

How will you be ringing in the New Year? I don't mean the Eve. I mean that first day. Do you have a resolution to be better about getting out and getting some exercise?

How about joining one of New Jersey's 2018 First Day Hikes? First Day Hikes is a national effort to get people outdoors. Yes, January 1 can be tough to get outside because of the weather and because we are recovering from the night before, but this tradition has gained numbers each year.

The New Jersey State Park Service is hosting 24 guided hikes, 2 mountain bike rides and 1 horseback ride in state parks, forests and historic sites on New Year’s Day as part of America's State Parks First Day Hikes program. 

These free First Day Hikes offer a great incentive to get outside, exercise, experience history, enjoy nature, and celebrate the New Year with friends and family in one of your state parks. 

For all hikes and rides, wear sturdy footgear and bring water and snacks. Check the weather before you leave the house and wear weather-appropriate clothing. Layers are best for exercising in colder temperatures.

One South Jersey biking possibility is the Batsto First Day Mountain Bike Ride in Wharton State Forest. This will be a guided 10-mile unpaved bike trail ride through the New Jersey Pinelands to ring in the New Year. They will meet in the Batsto Village Parking Lot at 11am. Bring your own bike to participate in this event. Registration for this ride is REQUIRED. To register or for more information email Gil Mika at wharton.nature@comcast.net

Need an easier way to get into 2018? I may ease into 2018 with one that is local for me - the Grover Cleveland’s Historical Visit & Hike. You can visit the Grover Cleveland Birthplace and/or join in on an easy/moderate 1.5 walk. The route starts at the Birthplace, proceeds down to and around the Grover Cleveland County Park, then back to the Birthplace. The Birthplace will be open from 11am to 12 noon. The Hike begins at 12 noon.

And there are plenty of options across the state at different levels.

Click the link below to see the list of all the hikes to welcome the New Year!

http://www.njparksandforests.org/parks/first_day_hikes.html

Winter Hiking

It is getting colder and we have had a bit of snow, so you may be staying indoors more. But a winter walk or hike can be invigorating.

Crowded trails are unlikely in winter. Bugs are gone. The lack of leaves makes wider views available. I happen to love a hike after a snowfall and tracking.

Of course, a winter hike needs different preparation. You need to dress in layers. You may need boots rather than those lighter "trail shoes." Maybe you're adventurous enough to do a snowshoe hike. Winter walkers might also want to use traction aids or poles.

Sounds like too much? You can still do those park and rail trail walks that you enjoyed in the warmer months with minimal prep.

Check out these Winter Hiking Tips from njHiking.com

Run, Walk or Bike at the Jersey Shore

Jersey Shore in Motion has a nice list of running and walking trails in Monmouth and Ocean County.

Cattus Island County Park - 1170 Cattus Island Blvd, Toms River, has a trail system that is great for an easy hike. Designed to provide access to the most beautiful areas of the property, you can seek out the returning migratory songbirds or witness the osprey building her nest along the 1,500-foot boardwalk or on one of the other trails in this 500-acre Ocean County sanctuary.

Double Trouble State Park - 581 Pinewald Keswick Road, Bayville, is an active cranberry farm, and it also features a marked 1.5-mile loop and several miles of unmarked paths. Located on the eastern edge of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Nature Trail identifies 20 points of interest from endangered plants to native animals.

18 more possibilities at jerseyshoreinmotion.com

Walking the Columbia Trail

Pequest Trail at DL&W overpass

Most of us will never through hike the Appalachian Trail and only a small group of us will even hike the New Jersey section of the AT, but there are many smaller and short trails in the state that are good for beginners, parents with kids and a day's outing.

I have written about the Columbia Trail which is a Rails-to-Trails project which in Morris County follows the South Branch of the Raritan River. It ends to the north at Long Valley near the nearby Patriots' Path trail.

When in the 1990's the Columbia Gas Company constructed a gas line under the rail bed, the surface rights were transferred to the Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation for use as a recreational trail.

There are a number of other smaller trails near sections of the Columbia Trail.

• The Landsdown Trail is 1.8 miles of concrete, crushed stone, dirt and gravel in Clinton.
• The Capoolong Creek Wildlife Management Area has a 3.7 mile trail that parallels the creek in Pittstown.
• The Oxford Bikeway is just under 1 mile of asphalt surface and the 
• Pequest Wildlife Management Area Trail is great for walking. It gives you access to the Pequest River which is stocked with trout from the hatchery located there.

The Columbia was the Trail of the Month last October on the TrailLink website. They discovered that the Columbia Trail "had the highest user rating that a trail could have: five out of five stars, as well as 70 firsthand reviews when most trails on the site boast only a handful. It ranks number 21 on the list of TrailLink's most-viewed trails in the entire country."

Columbia Trail along the Ken Lockwood Gorge, photo © Sean Blinn via railstotrails.org

Information on Rails-to-Trails via http://www.traillink.com

Hackensack’s Borg’s Woods and Wawayanda Swamp Natural Area

The improving weather makes many of us more enthusiastic about getting out for a walk or hike. Looking through the many options at NJ Urban Forest, I came upon two North Jersey possibilities for this weekend.

Both of these rambles go through areas that were once commercially owned and that were obtained for preservation and recreation.

First up is Hackensack’s Borg’s Woods. About 14 acres of Borg’s Woods were originally owned by Macromedia, Inc., which planned to build a condominium development in the mid-1980s. After years of legal battles, Bergen County purchased the parcel in 1994, and an additional acre of the Summit Hill Ridge was purchased from two homeowners by the County in 1995.

Of course, these urban forests - as the name suggests - have pretty mild and shorter "hikes" that serious hikers would consider more of a walk.

The second trek goes through a section of Wawayanda State Park. The park was one of the first major acquisitions by the New Jersey Green Acres program in 1963 from the New Jersey Zinc Company.

“Wawayanda” is like many NJ locations of Lenape Indian origin. The word is said to mean "water on the mountain," although in modern parlance, some say it means “way way yonder” since the park is rather remotely located in northwestern Passaic and southeastern Sussex counties.

The hike offered takes you to a rare inland Atlantic White Cedar swamp in the 2,167-acre park. The Wawayanda Swamp Natural Area is the largest natural area in the park.