Crystal Lake Park - Burlington County
Delaware River Heritage Trail - Burlington County
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.12214, -74.74344
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| Route 130 Trailhead Parking |
TRAIL MAP:
Crystal Lake Park Brochure - Burlington County
Delaware River Heritage Trail Route 130 Bypass - Burlington County
HIKE DISTANCE: 11.5 miles
THE HIKE:
I hiked part of the Delaware Heritage Trail coming from the opposite end in March 2021. This hike connects to where I left off.
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| From the parking lot taking the sidewalk to ... |
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| ... a left on the paved Route 130 Bypass Trail. |
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| Right on a path. |
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| Coming up on Crystal Lake. |
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| A short white trail to the left ... |
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| ... leads to some views. |
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| It was way more hilly and steep than I had expected. |
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| A couple of trails actually dropped straight down. Thanks, but no thanks, on this frosty 25-degree morning with thick leaf drop. |
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| We just squiggled around on other trails. |
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| Coming out on mowed paths around fields. |
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| Conflicting signs - bikes and horses are not allowed on the bridge yet the sign warns that bridge might be slippery for bikes and horses? |
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| Coming up on the main parking lot. |
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| Crossing over ... |
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| ... to a left on the paved bike path that leads out of Crystal Lake Park. |
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| The bike path moves on to the road while a sidewalk leads through Hedding. |
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| The bike path resumes. |
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| That house ahead had a ton of Christmas decorations but they were not blown up. We would be seeing them fully on the way back. |
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| A tunnel under Route 130. |
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| Coming up on the railroad crossing. |
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| This was not open when I was here last so the other side of the tracks had been the turn around point. |
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| We continued on a bit. |
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| Delaware River |
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| Heading back. |
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| There goes a train. |
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| Coming back up on the railroad crossing, the picture on the left is from 2021 when it was still closed pending completion of a 1.3 MILLION dollar crossing. Now it is complete and you can cross. I can't believe it took that much money. I have hiked many places where you just had to have enough sense not to cross when a train was coming. For free. |
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| Even Brodie, by no means the brightest dog on earth, knows to look. |
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| Back under Route 130. |
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| Coming back up on that house with all of the decorations now in their full glory. |
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| Coming up where the bike path resumes, there is a faint path to the left ... |
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| ... that connects back over to the mowed paths in Crystal Lake Park. |
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| Following the mowed path around the perimeter, it meets back up with the paved bike path ... |
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| ... back to the parking lot. |
Hi Daniela -- still "here" following all your hikes/bikes (even if I don't always comment). Been to Crystal Lake Park a number of times, but not lately, as I didn't realize/know about the Delaware River Heritage Trail (until -- as usual -- reading about it in your blog!) Looks like I would need to park in the "Route 130" parking lot to get the full effect of the DRHT; I have always parked in the main lot (off Axe Factory Road).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots on the hiking trails (themselves) in Crystal Lake Park...can _never_ go wrong there! (Yes, there is _definitely_ a steep hill or two there; several years ago, my mom had sent me a link to an article regarding "Mountain-like Hiking at Crystal Lake Park"...and this excellent park does NOT disappoint in that regard! ;-) ). But always LOVE me some pix of Crystal Lake itself!!
Again, thanks to YOU (and Brodie, of course)...this park is *SO* on my "list" of parks/trails to hike in 2026, and will surely make my [future] "Trails 2027" calendar (courtesy of my mom)!!
As always...looking forward to your next adventure!
-- Jim