REI Opening Paramus Store: 8/26-27

REI has plans to open a few stores in the NY/NJ area in the next year, and August 26-27, 2011 will see the grand opening of their store in Paramus, NJ. Giveaways, t-shirts, and other goodies will be given out, as well as a chance to check out all the shiny new gear. REI Paramus store details.

REI East Hanover & Marlboro Events

Not to be left out, REI’s stores in East Hanover and Marlton offer gear demos and other instruction (GPS, hiking, backpacking, cycling) both in store and on location in local parks and rivers.

Freewalkers Endless Summer Walk: 10/1

The long distance walking group the Freewalkers (see Lenape Trail Hike Report) are back with another great event—a one day, 30 mile walk along the Jersey Coast from Keyport to Asbury Park on October 1, 2011. The trip goes through some great shore towns and trails around Monmouth County and Sandy Hook. Like past walks, check the schedule for points along the way to start or leave the group if you don’t think you can make the whole distance. Bay2Ocean30 / Endless Summer Walk web site.

BaseCamp Adventure Outfitters Group Hikes: Weekly

BaseCamp Adventure Outfitters, an outdoor gear outfitter located in Bernardsville, offers weekly group hikes around Morris County and surrounding parks. Upcoming hikes include Lewis Morris Park on 8/23, Hackelbarney State Park on 8/30, and Turkey Mountain on 9/12. BC Upcoming Hikes Listing.

Hudson River Valley Ramble: 9/10-25

Relayed from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference newsletter, the 12th Annual Hudson River Valley Ramble starts September 10th with hiking and historical events all month, and up and down the Hudson from NYC to Saratoga.

Did I miss anything of note? Got an event you want to share? Post away in the comments!

Park Information

For more information on Loantaka Brook Reservation, Direction and Trail Maps see these sites:

• Morris County Parks Commission’s Loantaka Page
• NYNJTC’s Loantaka page
• Listing of Park Entrance Locations

Trip Photos

View additional photos on Flickr.

[...] 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.

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.

I’ve been an REI co-op member for a few years now and their prices, customer service, and quality of their in house brand clothing and gear are all top notch, and they also carry some of the top names in clothing and gear like Black Diamond, Mountain Hardware, Patagonia and The North Face. So if you’re looking for a new jacket or fleece for the Fall, you’ve warn out your trail running shoes over the summer, looking for snowshoes or ski equipment, or just like drooling over gear you wish you had a reason to use and you’re in the area it would be worth a visit.

More information on the opening event, door prizes, and directions to the location on RT 10 is available at http://www.rei.com/easthanover. If you’re an REI member check your mail for a recent flyer with a 20% off coupon.