By Judy Minot • Our Chapter Correspondent in Dublin
Did you know that New Jersey has a hiking trail extending from the tip to the tail of the state? The NJ State Long Trail is a 383-mile-long route from High Point, New Jersey’s highest point, to Cape May Point at sea level.
The trail connects well-established trails in many of our state’s most beautiful areas, providing bountiful opportunities for hikers and other users of public open space. There are long areas of contiguous greenway for the movement of wildlife.
The route of the Long Trail forms a huge zigzag across much of New Jersey’s diverse natural environment, traversing upland forests and passing over hills and alongside waterways, farms, and cranberry bogs. It also goes through our state capital and several other historic communities.
The Sierra Club’s NJ Chapter has been one of the motivating forces behind the Long Trail. “Most people don’t know that we’ve spent over 20 years developing this trail,” said Dave Mattek, a Sierra Club member and issue coordinator for the Long Trail.
“During the first 10 years or so, most of the effort was devoted to mapping and planning the trail route. Then the work switched to cutting and marking the trail and coordinating with state, local, and other agencies. Now, we are devoting most of our energy to encouraging state and local governments to buy additional pieces of land needed for the trail,” Mattek said.
The trail is essentially complete, although it is hoped that future land purchases will enable the trail to be moved off the sections that are currently along public roads.
Highlands Trail
For about a quarter of its length, the Long Trail follows the Highlands Trail across Passaic, Morris, and Hunterdon counties. The Highlands Trail, which in New Jersey begins at the New York border, actually extends through four states to connect the Delaware and Hudson rivers.
The Highlands Trail section of the Long Trail passes through many New Jersey beauty spots, including Sparta Mountain, Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, Schooley’s Mountain, the Ken Lockwood Gorge, and Allamuchy Mountain State Park.
The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference maintains and manages the NJ and NY portions of the Highlands Trail, and development of the Long Trail has been accomplished with help from them.
From Holland Township to Trenton, the trail hugs the Delaware River, following the Delaware & Raritan Canal path. Then it heads through Mercer County Park and the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, before wending south through the full length of the Pine Barrens toward Cape May.
Creating a Wildlife Corridor
The Long Trail and the Highlands Trail link existing public open spaces and parks over long distances and establish new trail connections as required. The Long Trail helps to create corridors of natural open space for wildlife to travel while boosting ecological and climate resiliency. Development of the trail has also helped to strengthen partnerships between local, state, and interstate agencies, tying together conservation initiatives on a regional scale.
Hiking the Long Trail
While the 383 miles of the trail can be hiked from end to end, it may be more enjoyable—and less of an undertaking—to choose just a section at a time to hike. Wherever you live in New Jersey, the Long Trail is always less than 30 miles away. The trail varies from short sections that are an easy stroll to difficult and rocky climbs, such as the Musconetcong Gorge in Hunterdon County.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Long Trail, there is a wealth of information on our Chapter’s website. More information about the NJ section of the Highland Trail portion can be found at this link. Lots more hiking information is available on the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference website. There are also plenty of opportunities for volunteers to help mark and maintain trails.
Resources
Chapter Website: https://shorturl.at/n3F9Q
NY/NJ Trail Conference: https://www.nynjtc.org/
Highlands Trail in NJ: https://shorturl.at/l9hJ0