Intermediate

Baldpate Mtn: Pine Grove Hike

Suitable for hiking or biking (see Biking Notes): This has been one of our favorite walks on Baldpate for years, but we’ve never written about it in part because a critical segment was missing from the County’s map. This hike takes you through one of the very few stands of pine trees to be found on Baldpate, via a narrow, twisting trail that’s beautiful and fun to walk in almost any season. However, my favorite time to do this hike is in the winter, after a dusting of snow. Another great time to walk this is in July when the wild raspberries are in season. (Driving time is about 25 minutes; rated for intermediate to experienced hikers for elevations and because trails are poorly blazed. Intermediate hikers should load a GR Series Map into their smart phone, and be prepared for a longish hike.)

Jacobs Creek Trail

The Jacob’s Creek Trail provides a little over a mile of paths along this famous creek, a charming, short reminder of a wilder time. The southern end of this walk is particularly lovely, because it passes through farm land not yet subdivided into McMansion plots. (

Woodfield Reservation

The Woodfield Reservation is an off-the-beaten track preserve in north-western Princeton. It provides just under two miles of woodland hiking trails, with the greatest elevation change you’ll find within the town limits (about 100 feet), and two geologic features that kids love. The trails are laid out in two intersecting loops that cross a series of small brooks which flow during the wet season. Note that the trails do get muddy in places, especially in the spring, and because they get relatively little use, can be narrow and brushy. (Driving time is about 25 minutes; rated Intermediate for brushy trails and poor signage).

Fiddlers Creek Preserve

Fiddler’s Creek Preserve is a 120 acre parcel directly south of the Baldpate Preserve, on the opposite side of Fiddler’s Creek Road. It provides two miles of Beginner to Intermediate trails, none with more than 80 feet of vertical elevation change, through fields, woods, and (most interestingly) Fiddler’s Creek Ravine. Kids will enjoy the rock walls of the ravine and the historic ruins.

Hacklebarney State Park

For beginning to intermediate hikers, Hacklebarney gives you a taste of what wilderness hiking is all about. The Park is truly beautiful, with trails that overlook tiny, pristine brooks that still support wild native trout (the brook trout), and descend through dense woods towards the Black River. Kids will love the streams and the rock formations. (Driving time is a little over an hour; rated Beginner to Intermediate depending on the trails you select)

Teetertown Preserve

For young kids, there’s something about sleeping in a tent outdoors that’s truly exciting. It’s great even when it’s in the back yard. When it’s in the woods with a blazing camp fire, next to a farm, a short walk from a pond that’s stocked with trout, and adjacent to fun hiking trails, it’s an experience they’ll remember for a lifetime.

Baldpate Mtn: Eastern Trails

Lovely trail section of the Baldpate trail system, recently re-blazed with drainage improvements. Less steep than Summit or Switchback trails, but lovely in its own right. We suggest loop hike: Kusar Mountain to Copper Hill (either branch, western harder and wetter), to parking lot, then return via Kusar Mountain, which starts near high tension wires.

Hartshorne Woods Park

Hartshorne Woods is a magical place for walking or mountain biking (or fishing or birding), located on the highest coastal escarpment on the Atlantic seaboard south of Maine. A little over an hour from Trenton, east of Red Bank, and opposite Sandy Hook, it makes a wonderful half-day excursion in its own right, or combined with a half-day at the beach. Kids will love the lush terrain so close to the ocean, and the military anachronisms such as the WWII pillboxes (Driving time is about 75 minutes; Rated Intermediate for cumulative elevation gain)

Witherspoon Woods / Mountain Lakes

In recent years, Princeton has gotten serious about preserving open space. Recently, Princeton added Witherspoon Woods to its park system and trail network. It’s only 40 acres, but it adds charming terrain and a slightly more challenging way to access the Mountain Lakes Preserve. I stumbled upon it by accident and fell in love with it. A wonderful introduction to “real hiking” for beginners, and a charming walk for everyone. (Driving time is about 25 minutes. Rated Beginner though the footing is rocky in places and can get muddy in wet season)

Dry Run Creek / Rockhopper Trails

Just north of Mercer-Hunterdon County line is the Dry Run Creek trailhead, 20 minutes or so north of downtown Trenton by car. Maintained by the D&R Greenway Land Trust, it’s a delightful, 1.2 mile trail that descends into Dry Run Creek* and then climbs about 230 feet to 518 and another parking lot. There, if you look directly across the road, you can continue on the Rockhopper Trail. Altogether, you can walk an entertaining 10+ mile round trip hike.