New Jersey might not be the first place one thinks of for outdoor recreation, even for Garden state locals, but perhaps it should be. Residents of the busy northern areas of the state, like Paterson, Newark, and Hoboken, will find plenty of outdoor adventure opportunities and great trails within an easy day trip. Hikers can traverse the Long Path through Palisades Interstate Park and mountain bikers will enjoy the Henry Hudson Trail, a converted rail-trail outside Perth Amboy. Both hikers and bikers can travel the paths and trails along the Delaware and Raritan Canal, one of a wide range of New Jersey State Parks that also includes excellent destinations like Wawayanda, Allamuchy Mountain, Ringwood, and Kittatinny Valley. Further west in ranges like the Hamburg and Ramapo Mountains, rugged peaks such as Pohatcong, Jenny Jump, and Musconetcong Mountain rise above the local river valleys, and the magnificent Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the Delaware River houses steep Mount Tammany and New Jersey’s own section of hiker’s paradise, The Appalachian Trail.
In the south, Wharton State Forest and Lebanon state Forest form the heart of the giant Pinelands National Reserve, better known as the Pine Barrens, a natural area unique to New Jersey where canoers and kayakers can paddle on the lazy rivers, streams, and lakes. And the New Jersey Shore is a great ocean playground all the way from Cape May State Park on Delaware Bay to Sandy Hook and the Gateway National Recreation Area below staten Island. Even glitzy Atlantic City is right outside the trails of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great for paddlers and cyclists alike.
Clearly, New Jersey defies expectations, and perhaps is best thought of as a vast nature preserve between the two metropolitan regions of New York City and Philadelphia.
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