Allaire State Park, NJ - Robinwoods Dinosaurs

 

 

ABOUT THE PARK: 

UPDATE 10/12/2022: Dinosaur stick sculptures at Allaire State Park destroyed by vandalism - Star News Group

Allaire State Park - NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Dinosaurs! - Exploring Allaire State Park

DIRECTIONS: 

GPS Coordinates 40.133700, -74.122226

Parking outside the main entrance of the group campground.

TRAIL MAP: 

Allaire State Park Hunting Map - NJDEP (shows a snippet in the bottom right corner but the trails are not accurate.)

Allaire State Park - Trailforks (shows some trails but not all)

Powered by Wikiloc

HIKE DISTANCE:  1 mile

 

THE HIKE: 

Granddaughter Ellie was spending the weekend.  This was hike one of two for the day.

Ready to go find those dinosaurs in, as Ellie calls it, "The Big Forest."

We walked in on the main campground drive where unmarked trails branch off.  We took the first trail on the right.

This section of the park does not allow hunting so you have to get started really early and watch carefully for mountain bikers on the trails because the later it gets, the more mountain bikers arrive.

Early on balloon #56 of the year.

When you see these structures you are getting close to the dinosaurs.

They are somewhere in this beautiful pine forest.

Over there!

This would be a stegosaurus.  (ID compliments of 3-year-old Ellie)

Feeding the stegosaurus some pine needles.

A triceratops. (ID compliments of 3-year-old Ellie.)

T-Rex (ID compliments of 3-year-old Ellie)

Looping around back to where we parked, we touched on the only blazed trail in this part of the park.

Where we were the only ones there at 7:30 AM, by the time we got back to the car it was getting pretty busy with dog walkers and mountain bikers.

Allaire State Park, NJ - Hog Bog and Tiger Woods

ABOUT THE PARK:
Allaire State Park - NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Allaire State Park - JORBA

DIRECTIONS:

GPS Coordinates 40.141192, -74.122341

View Larger Map

Large parking lot on Hospital Road.

TRAIL MAP:
Allaire State Park Multi-Use Trail Map - JORBA
Allaire State Park, NJ - Hog Bog and Tiger Woods at EveryTrail


HIKE DISTANCE:  7.2 miles

THE HIKE:

Starting out on the orange/white multi-use trail.

Sand Pit

View from the power cut.

Hog Bog - swirly trails on raised berms.

Charred trees on the other side of the firebreak.

Spring growth along the river.

Manasquan River

It is surprisingly hilly around the river.

This climb in particular was almost straight up on sand.

With a seasonal view at the top.

It wouldn't be a Jersey hike without an old rusty car along the trail.

The Tiger Woods trail follows along above the Manasquan River.

A memorial for Walter "Wats" Watson.

The Tiger Woods trail is named that because it goes through the woods ...

... and along a golf course.

Back on orange/white.

Radio Control Airplane Field

Close-up of the sign.

HIKE SUMMARY:
[  0.00]  Take the orange/white multi-use trail from the western end of the parking lot
[  0.05]  Cross gravel road at Sunset to Sunrise sign; keep left at fork on orange when orange/white goes right
[  0.55]  Turn right on unmarked at sand pit when orange goes left; keep straight to the other side of the sand pit then turn left on the more defined trail running to the right of the sand pit
[  0.60]  Turn left on blue at T-intersection
[  0.80]  Turn left on blue at T-intersection where blue also goes right
[  1.20]  Keep right on blue when orange merges in from the left
[  1.35]  Keep right on blue when orange leaves to the left
[  1.70]  Turn right on blue when orange merges in from the left
[  1.85]  Turn left on orange when it leaves blue which continues to the right
[  2.00]  Orange turns right in the power cut
[  2.50]  At 3-way intersection where orange goes right and a wider trail is straight ahead, turn left on the unmarked sandy trail - this area is Hog Bog - the trails are on raised berms and are not marked; keeping to the left at all intersections will get you around the area
[  3.00]  Turn left downhill to Manasquan River; trail continues a short distance along river then retrace
[  3.30]  Back at the Hog Bog trails, keep left
[  3.45]  Trail goes between 2 metal posts; keep straight passing two wooden posts to the left; start to follow the horseshoe bend on the right then turn left at the first trail
    *** I did some going in circles here trying to find my way to Tiger Woods so picking back up when I ran into orange ***
[  4.30]  At T-intersection with orange, turn right on orange
[  4.40]  When orange turns right, turn left on unmarked
[  4.55]  At T-intersection turn right on Tiger Woods (sometimes marked with can lids)
[  4.85]  Keep left when unmarked goes right
[  4.95]  Keep right at fork (left goes to golf course)
[  6.50]  Turn left on orange/white
[  6.80]  Cross paved path keeping on orange/white
[  7.15]  Turn left and cross over gravel road
[  7.20]  Back at parking lot