Hike New Jersey is an incomprehensive guide to hiking and walking in the Garden State. The Appalachian Trail may cut through its northern tip, and thus can be a hike just to get to for some, but the rest of the state is littered with trails and hiking areas that might be just minutes from where you live.
While not covering every park, or even parks in every region of the state the intent is to stimulate exploration and provide some information to help you enjoy the trails in whichever part of the state you may be in.
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Hiking National Trails Day in NJ
This Saturday June 5th, 2010 marks National Trails Day — a day in which the American Hiking Society says:
[...] inspires the public and trail enthusiasts nationwide to seek out their favorite trails to discover, learn about, and celebrate trails while participating in educational exhibits, trail dedications, gear demonstrations, instructional workshops and trail work projects.
I encourage everyone across the state to find a local trail [or not so local trail] and enjoy the parkland, and maybe see something new, or find a work crew and help give back a little. If you’re looking for a local event to meet other people, or maybe find a guide for a trail you’re unfamiliar with here are a few of note:
- Parsippany: guided hikes, bike rides & trail maintenance opportunities at Central Park
- Millbrook Village: Hike to Save The Delaware Water Gap sponsored by the NJ Sierra Club
- Oaklyn: REI Marlton sponsored trail cleanup in Saddler’s Woods
- Morris County: I previously posted about the film festival Friday: Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival
- Ocean County: 3mile hike in Cattus Island County Park
- Bear Mountain, NY: Celebrate the reconstruction of the
original section of the Appalachian Trail!, NY-NJ Trail Conference’s event with activities, guest speakers, music and more - More at: AHS National Trails Day New Jersey Listing
If you’re hosting or know of an event this weekend that I didn’t mention please leave some information and a link in the comments section of this post.
And if you’re looking for more to do outdoors this summe check out the article The great Morris outdoors: 10 local activities you need to try this summer in the Daily Record for some ideas.
The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, Mendham, June 4
Friday evening, June 4th 2010, the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival will make a stop at Mendham’s Schiff Nature Preserve and show a selection of films from this year’s film festival which took place in January. Highlights of the night’s films include a summary cut of PBS’s National Parks: This is America series and films of local interest including Legacy of the Land a film about the Schiff natural Lands Trust narrated by Bill Moyers with busic by Moby and GrowTown Motown about building a Morristown community garden. Get full list of films, location information and ticket info.
Tickets for the event, which begins at 5:30PM, begin at $15.50 though additional donations towards the Schiff Lands Trust are encouraged and can be purchased online at the the event’s website. BaseCamp Adventure Outfitters of Basking Ridge and other local vendors are sponsoring the event and showing off their wares.
EDIT: Apologies to South Jersey, but I hadn’t initially noticed that the Film Festival’s following stop is June 11 from 6:00PM – 10:00PM at The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ. Tickets are $25 with proceeds going to The Wetlands Institute. Here’s all the information.
And don’t forget two events celebrating the outdoors and NJ’s great parks this upcoming Saturday, May 22nd — South Mountain Reservation’s Mayapple Festival and The Big Walk.
Finally, if you’re an outdoor organization in New Jersey looking for coverage of your hikes or events chase me down at @HikeNJ on Twitter or leave a comment here with information.
South Mountain’s 1st Annual Mayapple Festival, May 22, 2010
If you’re not attending The Big Walk on Saturday May 22 or looking for something a bit more low key or family friendly there’s the first annual South Mountain Reservation Mayapple Festival.
Sponsored by the South Mountain Conservancy and the Essex County Parks Department this one day event is at South Mountain Reservation in New Jersey (Hike NJ SMR Park Info Page) the festival has something for everyone — from an ultra-marathon to walks through the new wildflower preserve to an ultimate frisbee game. Most activities will take place or originate in the Summit Field area located off of South Orange Ave. (Map).
The following info was taken from SOMOCON’s email newsletter:
Events Overview
- Art Show and exhibits – Summit Field, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Nature Creative Writing Session – Summit Field, 2:30.
- Ultra-marathon – Locust Grove, 6:00 a.m. -10:00 p.m.
- Special Hikes – originating at Summit Field — 10:00, 12:00, 1:30, 2:00
Organized Hike Schedule
- 10 a.m. to 11:30: Washington Rock by a different route: We will walk at a moderate pace on some seldom used trails to and from Washington Rock, having a tour of some of the sites there and monuments. Meet at the south end of the Summit Field picnic area.
- 12:00 to 1:30: Quick Stroll to the Falls: A medium paced stroll using part of the newly extended red dot trail and a new section of the Lenape to Hemlock Falls. Meet at the south end of the Summit Field picnic area.
- 1:30 p.m. to 3: Origins of the Park Historical Tour: Meet at Bramhall Terrace overlooking NYC to see areas related to the founding of the park in 1895 and the years immediately after as well as some old, abandoned mines where Maplewoodians of the early 1800′s hoped to find copper.
- 2:00 to 3:00: The Wildflower and Forest Preserve: Join Tricia Zimic for a tour of the new trails in the Wildflower and Forest Preserve. Meet at the south end of the Summit Field picnic area.
I’m not able to attend, but if you do make it out I’d love to hear from you here about how it went & what you enjoyed about the first year of this event, so come back and leave a comment or link your photos!
