Stunning views at Worthington State Forest!…read more Beach careful while driving to the camp ground registration area. Slow down because the two-way traffic road narrows at some parts. Looking forward to visiting again!

Hello Yelp World! This is my first review, not for a restaurant, but for this spectacular hike up…read moreMount Tammany at Worthington State Forest. So I've picked up hiking the last few years because not only is it great exercise and you get to enjoy awesome views but it's free, unless you count the cost of getting there. My first attempt at hiking here was denied several weeks ago when I came on a Sunday at 10am, huge mistake! Because of the pandemic, only the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center lot is open, and by this time on a weekend the parking lot was packed to the gills. So do yourself a favor and either avoid coming here late, or not come at all on a weekend, otherwise the park ranger will turn you away if the lot is full. Today I got here at 9am. Score!!! Only a half-dozen cars were parked here on this Monday morning. Follow the signs to the beginning of the red dot trail, which is located on the west side of Route 80, to begin this challenging hike. There are other trails at Mount Tammany but the red-blue trail seems to most popular. Be warned, the trail is quite steep and will involve a lot of rock scrambles. I will admit my teenage son was flying up the mountain while I was taking it slow and gasping for air, haha! So if you haven't twisted an ankle or got bit by a rattlesnake or copperhead - yes, there is a signpost warning about the snakes, but I didn't see any - you will come upon two overlooks with beautiful views of Mt. Minsi and the Delaware Water Gap. The first viewpoint is about three-quarters of the way up the red trail and the other one is at the summit. You should definitely scramble down the rocks a bit if you're comfortable with it to get much better vistas. After taking in the views and catching your breath you will continue along the red dot trail which will connect you with the blue dot trail. Follow the blue trail to descend the mountain. While not as steep coming down, there are still lots of loose rocks that you need to be wary of. As you near the end of your hike on the blue dot trail, you are rewarded once again with a beautiful little waterfall. Hikers were wading in the stream here to cool off, but I took a pass. Once you've finished taking your pictures here, cross the bridge and continue on the white trail, which is actually part of the Appalachian Trail, and you will end up back at the beginning of the red dot trail where you began. You can now go back under the underpass to head back to your car at the visitor center.

"The Way You Think It Is May Not Be the Way It Is At All."…read more This is the beautiful quote that's written out on the park's map that represents what this place truly is. As it states, it is a sanctuary - a sacred place for meditation, quietness and reflection. There are about 90 stones throughout the sanctuary - sourced locally and placed between 1980 and 2005 - that are nearly 3.6 billion (!) years old. Wow. There is a pond area as well, filled with koi fish and other little creatures. Since we've had a long, harsh winter in the North East this year, not much had bloomed and the trees were still bare with lots of anticipating bursts of spring ahead. I did capture a few daffodils and flowers poking their way through some of the brush. The trails are easy, natural and inviting. We arrived fairly early in the AM on a Saturday, and snagged a parking spot. There is limited parking and by the time we were leaving, the spots were all full. I would think the earlier in the day one can come, the better it is all around. Upon leaving a realized there is also a little Resource Center and Gem Shop by the fountains, but we were on our way out and skipped exploring this. Plus I was on my way to (a very clean!) porter-potty (so thankful one was on site.) toilet paper & hand sanitizer, too! Just as an FYI Thoroughly enjoyed coming here and exploring this beautiful, simple space. I love that they're a sanctuary, a non-profit organization committed to preserving nature's beauty and diversity. My heart was happy. Thankful. Inspiring. Would love to possibly create a similar nature sanctuary in the city one day.

Megalith Park is a simple but unique experience to check out if you're (somewhat) in the area. Its…read morea very nice, well maintained park with plenty of Megaliths to admire and take pictures with. Its a relatively small and can be fully explored in 1-2 hours. But you could easily spend more time here on a nice day. Its a bit off the beaten path, but the curvy, mountainous roads make the drive there enjoyable. Its a great place for a date, family outing, or just some alone time. Great photo ops.

Swartswood Lake State Park is always a relaxing place to walk, sit or just roam around the trails…read more Today, was overcast and misty and still had a relaxing time.

This state park holds a very special place in my heart, as most of my childhood summers were spent…read morehere. I still revisit it now, and it's like a beautiful time capsule for me. There are so many activities that you can do here: camping, fishing, ice fishing, picnicking, swimming, birding, boating, canoeing, biking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and my favorite, hiking. The four main trails are: Duck Pond Trail, Spring Lake Trail, Bear Claw Trail, and the Grist Mill Trail. Know Before You Go: There are entrance fees charged per vehicle.(Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day) Weekdays: $5.00 for NJ resident/ $10 (non-resident) Weekends: $10.00 for NJ resident/$20 (non-resident) There are plenty of secluded picnic tables and areas for grilling. And if you're like me and don't want to bother with grilling, food concessions are available during the summer months. Also, there are shower facilities by the main restrooms to rinse off after swimming in the lake. Go and enjoy this beautiful park that was New Jersey's first state park. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Really nice and quiet area to walk, with pretty views. We only trekked 2 miles of the trail this…read morefirst visit, but I would enjoy checking out further down the trail sometime. Loved the fun gnome art along the trail. Tip: if you have a fear of heights, there are a few spots in the trail that may make you feel a bit woozy, but never anything unsafe on the path, just large drops on the side of the trail occasionally.

***3 1/2 stars***…read more I'm a native of the Kingdom of Hunterdon but this is an area I'm not that familiar with - I grew up on the opposite, western side of the county, so my experience with High Bridge, Califon, etc. is pretty limited. I came here this past Saturday though (with a cameo appearance by one of my chums) to get some non-mountain hiking in on a gorgeous day. It had its moments, but ultimately I'm not crazy about completely flat surfaces and there just wasn't much variety in the adventure. My chum and I set off a little after 9am from the parking lot right off Main Street in High Bridge and just north of their main drag. Again, this is not a town I drive through often but it was very easy to locate the parking area once I'd gotten a quick look at the map. The parking is adjacent to some playing fields, and thankfully that meant multiple port-a-potties. I used one afterwards, which was about as clean as they get. The itinerary was pretty straight-forward - I walked from the High Bridge parking lot north through Ken Lockwood Gorge, and probably got about 15 minutes north of Califon before turning back. It took almost five hours and I would guess was about 12 miles all told (I love my Fitbit but I think it exaggerates constantly). The gorge is by far my favorite part of this walk. The optics are the best here - you're surrounded by high cliffs above and the Raritan River below, and it's pleasant to hear the roaring water in the background as you saunter through this section. There's also some gorgeous old houses off to the side with oodles of character (I made a mental note to look some of them up on Zillow when I got back), including multiple ones with little bridges and chicken coops. There's a makeshift fairy village situation off to the sides of the path, which is a nice little quirk. I think the one over in Maplewood at South Mountain is more intense, but this version covers more ground. And of course because it's Hunterdon, one of the fairy/gnome houses had a Confederate flag decoration. Who says the War of Northern Aggression stopped at the Mason Dixon Line? Once you get past the gorge though, the walk for me is pretty bland. I'm certainly very pro woods and whatnot, but the lack of distinguishing features makes this a bit of a snooze. I did enjoy the quick trip into downtown Califon, especially the little preserved railroad station from the 1800s. It looked like there were a few possible eating options as well a block or two off the trail that I briefly pondered before continuing on my journey. The canine chum situation was excellent - it was truly a bevy of pooches from beginning to end, with a curiously high percentage of German Shepherds. The wildlife situation was active as well, with a great many squirrels and chipmunks scampering around in the unseasonably warm temps. This one was just okay for me. I liked the clean bathroom accommodations and the ease of the path, but I need my walks/hikes to have a little more pizzazz to them.

Was a bit disappointed the bog wasn't accessible without advance registration with a guide and in…read moreseason. A field trip was coincidentally at the bog parking when we pulled up and he kindly explained. There was a port a potty there. The two trails on the property are open to the public but were easy to miss on the road. There is a picture of the trails at the bog parking, but not one online, so you should either snap a pic or download a trail guide app, both of which weren't ideal. So we picked the north woods trail, where there is a small pull off area for only a couple of cars max. There are allegedly 2 loops according to the map, but we only saw markers for one so not sure where they could have diverged. At one point the trail takes a hard turn, and after that there were no more markers. We used the app to make sure we hadn't gone off trail, but we were good, just not enough blazes. Wasn't too much to see in early spring, but it was quiet and flat-levelled, so it was pretty easy to do. Nothing too noteworthy on the path and it was only like a mile or so. It was fine. Would like to plan ahead and see when the bog is available if there is anything to see in there.

Do your research before you come here! You can only trek onto the boardwalk over the bog on…read moreWednesdays and certain Sundays, I think. Sadly, I was here on a Saturday. There are 2 trails off of Bog Road though. The lower one that walks by the bog was too damp/waterlogged to continue into but the one to the north was dry and very serene. The trails were a bit hard to find and the markers seemed to have disappeared halfway into the hike, so my friend and I had to turn back.

PROS: Great hiking trail for people that are moderate hikers. Clear trails, trail markers are easy…read moreto spot, and there's even a parking lot at the start of it CONS: when you get to the top there isn't that good of a view. You see the neighboring mountain but that's it. Normally you would want to see a body of water OVERALL: as long as you're looking for a moderate hike that isn't too scenic this would be good for you

Park with parking for access to the bike way and it has a kids playground plus picnic tables,…read morebarbecue grills plus access to the creek. Not exactly peaceful though, as there are busy roads on both sides of it.

Small walking park with some improved (rubber chips / gravel / asphalt) trails with exercise…read morestations and an outer grass loop. Has pavilions and park benches. Also all the trees are labeled with the varietal which will be cool when they flower. This visit was a bit early in the year. A few people out, some with dogs but not crowded.

This is a great place to go for a stroll after coming from the awesome diner not too far from this…read morelocation. The park is well-kept and clean and it's a perfect afternoon or morning walk that is not too long. I think it's about 1.85 miles long if you do the whole track. But it has a nice little pavilion where you can barbecue and probably have a little get together. Lots of grass. The pathway is made of recycled, shredded rubber from tires I believe. It gives you a nice soft, cushiony feel when you walk. Throughout that trail you will see different exercise systems, that will help your exercise regime throughout. Incredible park to visit!