Hike New Jersey » Site Updates

Start Of Some Site Updates

Chris Casciano — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:47:15 +0000

Finally getting around to some overdue site maintenance tasks and thought while I was at it I’d make some visual tweaks, and make some other useful additions.

First, the Parks Index page now has an interactive map of all the locations covered on the site.

Second, I’ve started new guide pages for both Eagle Rock Reservation in Essex County and Jockey Hollow, part of the Morristown National Historic Park System. Both have some great info and links already.

Finally, I’ve started an account on Newsvine to bookmark interesting news stories regarding NJ parks and hiking trails. These are just the first of several planned additions. Follow along here, or follow @HikeNJ on twitter for future announcements.

Have a great Thanksgiving week and make sure to find someplace to hike off that turkey and stuffing! (Try this hike Sunday in South Mountain).

Twittering And Upcoming Winter Updates

Chris Casciano — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:21:50 +0000

I’ve got a few articles and updates and reviews in the works for the Hike New Jersey web site — some more park guides as well as reviews of some hiking and trail guides. Winter is approaching, but that doesn’t mean the outdoor activity should stop. There are great spots in the state for snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and since most of the season will be snow free you can still go out hiking and trail running. I’ll be posting info on some of my favorite spots. If you have suggestions of a favorite place to spend a wintery weekend in New Jersey let us know in the comments below.

Follow us at @HikeNJ

While the Hike New Jersey web site is intended as a reference site, sprinkled with news and trip reports, I’ve been using @HikeNJ on Twitter is a more active way to pull together news and other info of interest to locals who like to enjoy the parks around the state and the outdoors in general. Aside from my own trip reports, photos and general chattyness there are a few Twitter Lists I’ve started curating:

@HikeNJ/hiking-gear – A collection of outdoor gear retailers and manufacturers like @Campmor, @BlackDiamondUSA & @thenorthface
@HikeNJ/outdoor-organizations – Non-Profits and other trail and park services dedicated to protecting land and the environment like @NatlParkService, @NYNJTrailConf and @nature_org
@HikeNJ/new-jersey-news – General news feeds from up and down the Garden State including updates from @StarLedger, @AsburyParkPress and @HeraldNews

I look forward to hearing from you and keeping a conversation about hiking in this great state going.

Hike New Jersey Walks Again

Chris Casciano — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:11:30 +0000

In the late 90s a humble little site was created as a way for me to share photographs of New Jersey’s parks with those in the online hiking community. As time passed and other photo sharing tools came online that site went dormant and was lost to time. In the last year or so I’ve had the idea to reacquire the domain for nostalgia’s sake and finally did this summer.

With the domain back in my hands I starting thinking about ways to put it in use. I couldn’t just make it a photo sharing site because Flickr does that so well and the local New Jersey communities there are already quite active. So isntead, work started on forming a site to do more then just show photos of the great natural resources and hiking areas we have in the state and to offer a bit more information and links out to help learn about and explore them. Pages for each hiking trail or park will soon have some background information as well as important information like maps, guidebooks, links to more information, and yes, photographs to wet your appetite.

Parks Already Posted & More To Come!

With the site relaunch I’ve started pages for a few of the trails I regularly find myself heading to for day hikes in north eastern New Jersey. These parks include South Mountain Reservation, The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Watchung Reservation and Lord Stirling Park. Don’t worry if these parks aren’t local to you, the guides for them link to resources that cover the entire state, and should give you a starting point for exploration.

Soon I hope to expand the list of trails and coverage of these state reaching areas like the Palisades Interstate Park to the northeast and points west like the Delaware Water Gap, so check back often or follow the site’s RSS feed or follow @HikeNJ on twitter for updates.