Dry Run Creek and Rockhopper Trails, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK:
Dry Run Creek Trail - D&R Greenway Land Trust
Rockhopper Trail - D&R Canal State Park

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.342078, -74.904860

Parking at the southern end of the Dry Run Creek Trail off of Woodens Lane.

TRAIL MAP:
Dry Run Creek Trail - NJ Trails
Rockhopper Trail - NJ Trails

My track with trails colored in showing trails not on other maps.

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HIKE DISTANCE:  11 miles

THE HIKE:

The Dry Run Creek Trail heads north from the parking lot.

After thunderstorms again the Friday before, there were lots of wet and  muddy spots alternating with dry stretches along this entire hike.

I had to rock hop over the creek for balloon #43.

The end of the Dry Run Creek Trail at the norther parking lot off of Route 518.

The Rockhopper Trail starts directly across the street between the trees.

A female Eastern Towhee was communicating back and forth with ...

... her male counterpart from different trees.  I think they were scouting out nesting real estate.

Turning left on the yellow trail that is not shown on the map.  The yellow and red trails are mountain bike trails.

This trail is clear and very well-defined.  It passes by several old mining pits.

Where the markers become consistent rectangles (up to this point the blazes were various paint swatches)  the trail splits into a loop; we went left.

Left goes to Route 518, right continues the loop.

It is really wet in places here.  Our feet and paws were already soaked so it didn't much matter at this point.

The reservoir was barely visible to the left.

After crossing the creek the loop is complete and then it's retracing back to blue.

A left on blue to continue on.

The roots of this tree have a hold on that boulder!

I had expected a trail called "Rockhopper" to be rockier but other than a small portion, it's pretty much smooth.

I couldn't see it going this way but the red loop comes in from the right - that is where we would be coming out after hiking the red loop.  For now, staying on blue.

The trail follows portions of old Rock Road where General Washington marched on his way from Lambertville to the battle of Monmouth in 1778. 

Turning right in a power cut.

After leaving the power cut to the left and crossing a bridge ...

... the trail continues on the gravel road into Lambertville but we made this our turn around point.

Back in the power cut, an American Kestrel.

Instead of turning right in the power cut and following blue back, we went straight through the power cut on to orange which connects back to blue.

But it is really wet and muddy pretty much the whole way.

Coming back out on blue.

There is no marker visible but I could tell from the Gaia app that left is the red trail so here we turned left.

Markers begin a little way in.  They are sometimes pink instead of red.

A very old bench.

It is obvious that the red trail is not used as much as the yellow trail.  Although it was passable, it is on the verge of becoming overgrown in spots.

There are a couple of blow downs blocking the way where there were none on any of the other trails.

Hungry squirrels.

I thought I had remembered seeing that pile of wood on the logs from Dan and Laura Balogh's hike on 4/8/2016 and it just so happens I got a picture in almost the same spot.  That wood, now weathered instead of new, has not moved in 3 years!

After the trail follows the creek for a while ...

... it runs into blue at the creek crossing; left on blue over the creek.

Back through the old quarry pits.

White-throated Sparrow

Back across Route 518 ...

... and back on the Dry Run Creek Trail.

The first piebald deer I have ever seen.

Coming back up on the parking lot.

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