Best Trails of New Jersey

This list represents the most popular trails in New Jersey (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next New Jersey outdoor trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

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Activity: State: Reset

#1. Appalachian Trail: Sunfish Pond & Mount Mohican

Sunfish Pond is one of the most popular hiking destinations in New Jersey, with good reason. The rocky shores of this crystal clear glacial lake are postcard perfect. Get an early start for this hik…

From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States"
Columbia , NJ - Hiking - 8.8 miles

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#2. Ringwood State Park Trails

At 5,000 plus acres, Ringwood State Park is one of the larger tracts of public land in northeastern New Jersey. The fact that it can be described as “mountain-bike friendly” makes it even more attrac…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking in New Jersey"
Ringwood , NJ - Mountain Biking - 11.5 miles

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#3. Palisades Interstate Park and the Long Path, NJ

This 7- or 17-mile hiking route takes you across the George Washington Bridge, north atop the Palisades high above the Hudson River, then down to either the Englewood or the Alpine Boat Basin, south t…

From the guidebook "Outdoor Escapes: New York City"
Englewood , NJ - Hiking - 17 miles

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#4. Appalachian Trail: Sunrise Mountain & High Point

The northern Kittatinny Ridge rises in an uninterrupted rampart, climbing to 1803 feet at High Point, the greatest elevation above sea level in New Jersey. This rugged AT ridge walk is punctuated by…

From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States"
Sussex , NJ - Hiking - 17 miles

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#5. Allamuchy Mountain State Park

Allamuchy State Park, with its 12 miles of forest roads and singletrack, is a place worth seeking out. Riding is a mixed bag, including everything from easy cruising on well-graded forest roads to cha…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking Eastern New York"
Hackettstown , NJ - Mountain Biking - 12 miles

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#6. Mount Tammany

The Kittatinny Ridge (meaning “Endless Mountain” in the Lenape Native American language) comes to an abrupt, spectacular end at Mount Tammany. The 1,527-foot ridge plunges 1,200 feet into the Delaware…

From the guidebook "Nature Walks in New Jersey"
Jacksonburg , NJ - Hiking - 3.5 miles

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Published by Appalachian Mountain Club Books

#7. Appalachian Trail: Catfish Mountain to Flatbrookville Road

The Kittatinny Ridge stretches northeast from the Delaware Water Gap for 43 miles to High Point, New Jersey, and is topped the entire way by the Appalachian Trail. When you look down from this precip…

From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States"
Jacksonburg , NJ - Hiking - 7.1 miles

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#8. Apple Pie Hill Fire Tower

There are no natural vistas from which to overlook the vast pine and oak wildlands overlaying the Cohansey formation aquifer. But 205-foot-high Apple Pie Hill with its firetower offers a stunning man-…

From the guidebook "Nature Walks in New Jersey"
Tabernacle , NJ - Hiking - 8 miles

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#9. Wawayanda State Park Trails

Before it became a state park in 1963, Wawayanda’s vast natural resources provided a source of income for the iron and logging industries. Present-day Wawayanda is a prime location for outdoor recreat…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking in New Jersey"
Wawayanda , NJ - Mountain Biking - 12 miles

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#10. Patriots' Path (East and West)

Patriots’ Path is a linear park first envisioned about twenty years ago, when Morris County officials began working on the creation of a continuous multi-use trail connecting parklands as well as recr…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking in New Jersey"
Mendham , NJ - Mountain Biking - 19 miles

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#11. Wharton State Forest

Wharton State Forest's 110,000 acres form the largest single tract of land in the New Jersey State Park System, but Wharton is part of a much larger system, one that stretches over one million acres i…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking the Greater Philadelphia Area"
Hammonton , NJ - Mountain Biking - 11.9 miles

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#12. Great Swamp and Jockey Hollow Cruise

Tours in and around the 6,800-acre Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and the Jockey Hollow Encampment Area of the Morristown National Historic Park are ever-popular among nature-loving bicyclists.…

From the guidebook "Best Bike Rides in New York, New Jersey, & Pennsylvania"
Green Village , NJ - Road Biking - 30.3 miles

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#13. Atsion Lake

One of the larger lakes within the 110,000-acre Wharton State Forest, Atsion Lake (pronounced AT-zon by locals) is the only one that provides on-site camping facilities, many of which are lakeside. Wh…

From the guidebook "Quiet Water New Jersey: Canoe & Kayak Guide"
Shamong , NJ - Flatwater Paddling & Canoeing

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#14. Delaware & Raritan Canal

There are two excursions described in this escape. First is an 8-mile hike mostly along a leafy canal towpath from Bound Brook to New Brunswick, New Jersey. And there’s a 20-mile hiking and cycling wo…

From the guidebook "Outdoor Escapes: New York City"
New Brunswick , NJ - Hiking - 20 miles

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#15. Lewis Morris County Park Trails

This ride at Lewis Morris County Park begins and ends at the Sunrise Lake parking lot, which serves as the focal point for a variety of park activities, including swimming, boating, and fishing as wel…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking in New Jersey"
Morris , NJ - Mountain Biking - 6.5 miles

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#16. Allaire State Park Trails

The restored 1830s village at Allaire State Park is a first-rate example of historical restoration. This self-contained community has an outstanding collection of period buildings, including a general…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking in New Jersey"
Farmingdale , NJ - Mountain Biking - 5.5 miles

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#17. Mullica River

The unique charm of the Mullica River comes from its extensive savanna marshes and numerous high, sandy banks that offer ideal places for a snack, sunbathing, or a swim. At the upper end the banks are…

From the guidebook "Paddling the Jersey Pine Barrens"
Atsion , NJ - Flatwater Paddling & Canoeing

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#18. North Wildwood Camping Resort

The Cape May peninsula is 16 miles long, 8 miles wide, and features more than a dozen campgrounds. Many more line US 9 north of the peninsula. Nearly all of these campgrounds densely pack in RVs; almo…

From the guidebook "The Best In Tent Camping: New Jersey"
Cape May , NJ - Campgrounds

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#19. Beaver Brook Trail

This rugged, 6.2-mile-out-and-back hike ascends to a beaver colony. While the animals are nocturnal, daytime visitors will be rewarded with proof of the beavers’ engineering feats. The hike also climb…

From the guidebook "Nature Walks in New Jersey"
Marcella , NJ - Hiking - 6.2 miles

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#20. Appalachian Trail: Wawayanda Mountain to Warwick Turnpike

Wawayanda State Park extends across 13,000 acres of wild land. It is a remote plateau covered by rhododendron bogs where bears forage, craggy cliffs where coyote and bobcat make their dens, and hemlo…

From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Mid-Atlantic States"
Vernon , NJ - Hiking - 6 miles

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