Winter in the northeast is great for winter fun – hiking, snowshoeing, downhill or cross country skiing, or just sledding with the kids. When the end of winter comes quicker then expected we can look fondly back on days like we had last week.

Then there are days like yesterday–full of slush, cold rain, and–where you don’t want to go out unless you absolutely must. Though I hope those days are short I’ve picked up a bunch of new or updated guide books to flip though and dream up new adventures come spring as well as spark ideas for this site. I will try and review some of them down the line, but you can check them out for yourself on Amazon:

• Hiking New Jersey by Paul DeCoste and Ronald Dupont Jr
• 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: New York City by Christopher & Catherine Brooks from the AHC
• AMC’s Best Day Hikes Near New York City and AMC’s Best Day Hikes Near Philadelphia from the AMC
• New Jersey Walk Book by Daniel D. Chazin from the NY/NJ Trail Conference
• Take a Hike New York City by Skip Card
• Best Hikes with Dogs New Jersey by Mary Jasch

NOTE: The above map and route was made with RunKeeper Pro, a GPS based activity monitor for the iPhone.

One of the nice things about the trails in South Mountain is that its easy to orient yourself based on the slope of the ridge and the nearby roads making it difficult to be lost for long and easy to wander from trail to trail. This is just what I did once I crossed South Orange Avenue into the northern half of the park. Jumping from the green trail markers to orange back to green as the terrain or pretty wintery scenes caught my fancy. Finally coming back to the yellow [Lenape] and white trail markers for the walk back to the Locust Grove lot in Millburn along the water.

For the first day of the new year the traffic on the trails was light and peaceful. The usual mix of families and dog walkers stuck to the areas around Hemlock Falls, the Dog park, and the larger parking areas, but the trails felt like they were all mine. A wonderful way to kick off a fresh year.

How did you spend this first weekend of the 2010?