Showing posts with label NJ Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NJ Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Show all posts

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Monmouth Battlefield State Park, NJ


ABOUT THE PARK:
Monmouth Battlefield State Park - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.26307, -74.32105
Huge parking lot by the visitor's center.  The park opens at 8 and I arrived at 7:15.  There are some spots for parking before the gate if it is still closed but on this morning the gates were open so I drove on in.

TRAIL MAP:
Monmouth Battlefield Brochure and Map - New Jersey DEP
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HIKE DISTANCE:  8.4 miles

THE HIKE:
We started on the path around the parking lot, heading in the direction of the park entrance, hoping to get to the red trail.
And there it is, just before the park road.
Brodie sees something.
This would be what he saw.
When the other trails starts merging in with red from the right ...
The trails are nearing the end.  It's only these trails in the vicinity of the visitor's center that are actually marked.
Cross over the bridge to the left and nothing is marked even though the map shows different trail colors.
We just kept to the left and followed around the fields.
Balloon #1 of the day, #7 for the year.
A short side trail down to Spotswood Middle Brook.
Sleeping orchards across the way.
Coming up on Battleview Orchards.
Under the railroad tracks ...
... with balloon #2 of the day, #8 of the year.
It looks like a trail continues directly across Route 522 but it dead ends.  I vaguely remember following that to the dead end with Shawnee 8 years ago.
What you are supposed to do is turn right then cross left at the crosswalk.
That leads to a wide mowed path with some ruins.
There used to be markers.
A red-tailed hawk was sitting right there but he flew away before I could get a shot and a bluejay immediately took the hawk's place.  How brazen of him.
Craig House
Behind the Craig Barn ...
... balloon #3 of the day, #9 of the year.
Again following the perimeter of fields.
We turned left at this hedgerow instead of doing the entire perimeter because winter slime was on its way and I wanted to be finished before it hit. 
Conover-Perrine House
And we had to come this way to retrieve balloon #4 of the day, #10 of the year.
Retracing ...
... back to the crosswalk ...
... and heading back the proper way.
Rotten apples everywhere in the orchard.
A different bridge over Spotswood South Brook heading back to the visitor's center.
Spotswood South Brook
But first, taking the blue trail to the left to loop around back to the visitor's center and parking lot.
And for balloon #5, 11th of the year.
Then a short distance later, balloon #6, 12th of the year.  I swear I wanted to finish with my eyes closed.  These balloons were filled with ice and I could carry no more.
Back at the visitor's center.