Saturday, May 2, 2026

Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK: 

DIRECTIONS: 
GPS Coordinates 40.56502, -74.39012
Nevsky Street Parking

TRAIL MAP: 

HIKE DISTANCE:  2.85 miles

THE HIKE: 
Years ago I hiked what was, at the time, the only trail in the Dismal Swamp, the Songbird Trail.  It was very short, only 1/4 mile long.  Now the Dismal Swamp has been renamed and a new trail has been added.  Since it was so close to where I had just biked, I had to check it out.
This short quarter of a mile section is still called the Songbird Trail.
It ends at New York Boulevard.  The trail continues as a road walk the other side of New York Boulevard.
This Triple C Ranch place is very strange.
Those warning signs are posted everywhere.  But welcome.
Beyond the gate the trail continues.
Bound Brook
Yikes.
The trail turns right; straight ahead leads to an apartment complex.
Now the trail is a footpath.
An unmarked trail branches off to the right and loops around to rejoin the marked trail.  I only knew this because it's on the Gaia GPS app.  I took the unmarked trail.
It's easy enough to follow ...
... but there are several downed trees to navigate around.
Meeting back up with the marked trail.
The end of the trail ...
... at the Coolidge Street parking lot.
Heading back.
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Middlesex Greenway, NJ - Bike with Walk to Opalanie Trail

ABOUT THE PARK: 
Opalanie Trail - Eagle Scout Project 2014 by Nikolai Krebs

DIRECTIONS: 
GPS Coordinates 40.53940, -74.36840
Huge parking lot that had about 5 cars at 6:30 AM.  This is at 8:30 AM.

TRAIL MAP: 
Middlesex Greenway Trail Map - Middlesex County, NJ


DISTANCES: 
Middlesex Greenway Bike - 7.25 miles
Walk to Opalanie Trail - 2.45 miles

THE BIKE: 
I had walked sections of the Middlesex Greenway before but had never biked it so I got an early start to beat the crowds (and it gets VERY crowded) to bike the entire length and back.  
The bridge over Route 1.
Under the New Jersey Turnpike.
Crossing light at Woodbridge Avenue, the busiest street to cross.
Dudash Park to the right; I'd hit that on the way back.
The end of the path.  Straight ahead connects to a residential area.
Heading back.
Left to Dudash Park.
Taking the loop around the park.
Back on the Greenway Path, crossing back over Woodbridge Avenue.
At the beginning, left to the parking lot to put the bike in the car.

THE WALK: 
I had come across the Opalanie Trail, constructed by an Eagle Scout in 2014 only half a mile away so I walked there and did some exploring of a future extension (?) of the Greenway.
A right out of the parking lot on Middlesex Avenue a few steps to the crosswalk.
Crossing over to the continuation of the unfinished part of the greenway.
It's mowed and clear.
Left at Durham Avenue.  I could not see if the greenway was passable on the other side - it was mowed for a short distance then looked overgrown.
Crosswalks to get to the other side of Durham Avenue are only along this new apartment complex; after that there are no more crosswalks.
Just ahead after the WATCH CHILDREN sign ...
... a groundhog ...
... and the Opalanie Trail.  The sign says it is blazed orange; The Barnes Preserve (heading there next) website says it's blazed blue.  In reality, I saw no blazes at all.
The path goes between the backyards of homes before it comes out at a creek where there is supposed to be a bench but there is no bench.
There is a wetland mitigation site.  I'd check that out on the way back.
The path continues along the wetland mitigation site fence ...
... then just ends in overgrowth at these trucks.
Heading back.
Gray Catbird
Heading into the wetland mitigation site.  The gate was wide open and there was nothing saying not to enter so I did.
Lots of trees were being planted.
At the far end there is some kind of construction going on before that apartment complex by where I had come off of the greenway.
Heading back.
Back to Durham Avenue and turning left.
I turned left into that apartment complex to see what that construction was behind it.
Can't really tell but it looked like more parking spaces maybe.
Coming up the other side of the apartment complex heading back towards Durham Avenue, a crosswalk to the left ...
... leading to nowhere?  Or maybe to what will be the greenway extension that has been talked about for years?  That is the greenway straight ahead.
And this dirt part leads right to where I had come out the other side of that jeep.
Back over to the greenway ...
... and across Middlesex Avenue to the parking lot.
If the greenway extension becomes a reality, it would be 1.2 miles from where I parked to my next hike, the purple track at the upper left.  But as it stands today, I had to drive there, 10 minutes away.
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