Greenway Meadows, NJ

ABOUT THE PARKS:
Poetry Trail in Greenway Meadows - World Literature Today
Greenway Meadows Poetry Trail - Beautiful Walkable Princeton
Johnson Woodland Preserve - Open Green Map
Stony Brook Trail - Beautiful Walkable Princeton
Johnson Education Center - D&R Greenway Land Trust

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.34528, -74.68190

Greenway Meadows Parking (parking lot farthest west on the map)

TRAIL MAP:
Greenway Meadows/Stony Brook - New Jersey Trails Association

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HIKE DISTANCE:  5.9 miles

THE HIKE:

From the parking lot, a paved path with the mowed path of the Scott and Hella McVay Poetry Trail a few steps ahead on the right.

There are poems all along this trail.  I'm sure it is just me but I don't get poetry and never have so none of it made any sense to me.

This mockingbird sat perfectly still on the top of a bush surveying the meadows.

And wondering why I kept taking his picture.  Well, it's not often a bird sits still for that long.

At a T-intersection of mowed paths, a right turn leads to the Johnson Education Center.

I cut through and veered left which turned out to be wrong.  I should have veered right.

So I crossed Rosendale Road, turned right and walked a short distance on the paved path to...

... this drive which is where I should have come out because the trail into Johnson Woodland Preserve is...

... directly across Rosendale Road from that drive.

The yellow trail into Johnson Woodland Preserve.

At the intersection we turned right on red.

Although the woods appear to be choked by invasives, the path is mowed clear.

Uh oh.  Not wheelchair friendly at all.

Fortunately there was a way around across the grassy area then down a service road then left on ...

... the paved Trolley Line.

When the paved trail veers left towards Johnson Park School, the footpath continues straight.

These steps were doable.

Uh oh.  This was a pretty big blow down and it was HEAVY but Shawnee waited patiently...

... while I did some trail maintenance and managed to clear the way.

After this bridge and a few stone steps up ...

Stony Brook

Looking back the way we came at an old bridge I had passed earlier,

I did not know it at the time because it's impossible to see coming in this direction, the trail actually continues beyond the picnic table and downed tree.  I thought I was crossing Rosendale Road to the left but turns out it was actually the entrance road to Johnson Woods School.

The fact that it was still marked red should have clued me in but it wasn't until I ran into the yellow trail we had come in on that I realized I missed the unmarked trail that should have continued along Stony Brook.

Backtracked and found the trail on the other side of that picnic table.

Then right before Rosendale Road the trail fizzled out and all I could see was a steep climb up to the road no matter which way we went.

Managed to drag the wheelchair up the embankment, turned right on Rosendale then crossed over following the left arrow to...

The paved path that runs parallel to the path we should have been on that I still could not see.

A short distance ahead where a paved path leaves left to a parking lot, turn right before the post up ahead on the right ...

... with the map holder that had no maps, and a footpath leads right to ...

... the Stony Brook Trail.

We started running into some rugged terrain where the wheelchair tipped over twice.

We managed to get up these steps but it was not easy.

Sometimes I had to take her out of the wheelchair and move her along then go back and get the wheelchair.

Completely not doable but there was no water in the creek and we were able to go around this bridge and the next one.

Then the trail smoothed out but I had already been thinking of alternatives to retracing along this trail.  Don't get me wrong, the trail is perfectly fine as long as you are not a dog in a wheelchair.

Coming up on a nice long bridge over Stony Brook.

Ducks in Stony Brook.

The trail straight ahead goes to Hun School, more on that later, but for now right across the bridge.

Crossing another shorter bridge.

This trail follows along a golf course all the way to ...

... Route 206 just up ahead.  The plan was to possibly turn left on Route 206 and walk to the residential streets which would lead back to Greenway Meadows.

Obviously that was not going to happen with no place to walk along Route 206

Heading back.

After crossing over the long bridge, we turned right towards Hun School in hopes I could get over to the residential street that way.

I did not see any signs saying I could not go this way or that dogs were not allowed so I hoped for the best and forged on.

The red-tailed hawk did not seem to mind.

The trail comes out on to school athletic fields where I followed the path left ...

... then right behind bleachers when it became paved.

I was horrified to see all of the steps at the end but oh yes, a handicapped ramp!

That got us up to the parking lot then out to the residential streets where we took Edgerstoune Road all the way to the end where ...

... it turns into the paved path back to Greenway Meadows.

Coming up on Johnson Education Center.

The indoor restrooms were closed but according to Shawnee the outdoor dog restroom was open.

Keeping right on the paved path then right to complete the poetry trail loop.

The trail goes uphill to views over the meadows.

Same mockingbird, different bush?  It was the same general area where I saw the one at the beginning of the hike and this one also was sitting perfectly still perched on top of the bush.

Finishing the poetry loop back to the parking lot.

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