Black Run Preserve, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK:  
Black Run Preserve - Friends of the Black Run Preserve

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 39.845851, -74.899213 (These coordinates are actually for parking along the road since that is where I thought I would need to park.  You would turn on to Kings Grant Trails instead.)

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The map says there is no dedicated parking but there actually is now.

There is no preserve sign from Kettle Run Road.  Turn at the NO Hunting/Dumping... sign and there is a parking pad on the right just around the bend before the preserve sign and trail head.

Looking back at the parking area from the trail head.

TRAIL MAP:
Black Run Preserve Trail Map - Friends of Black Run Preserve
There are many more unmarked trails that are not on the map.
Black Run Preserve, NJ at EveryTrail


HIKE DISTANCE: 9.4 miles

THE HIKE:

Straight ahead on the green trail.

Just before the fence, the orange trail starts to the right.  That was out return route.

Old, dry cranberry bog from the fenced trail.

An unmarked trail goes back between the cranberry bogs  ...

... with nice views but it's an out-and-back because ...

Not worth trying to cross here without a footbridge.  Believe it or not, Shawnee JUMPED over.  I was shocked.

But she couldn't get back so I had to haul her up with the handle of her harness.

On a southern section of the orange trail.

The white trail.  Trails are flooded out in places (Shawnee was walking on the ice just before she broke through) but there is room to get around.

We took some unmarked but well-defined trails to different cranberry bog views.

On the red trail...

... to the yellow trail.

The yellow trail ends at a big intersection with a painted tree.  We turned left on a sand road...

... then right on an umarked trail, crossed blue then took a different trail and ended up back at ...

... the blue trail.

Taking the eastern part of the red trail which is a sand road.

But at the end, turn left where the pretty part of red continues to the loop at the end.

Retracing back on red via the sand road but turning right on unmarked at the intersection,

back over to blue.

Another section of red.

There was an unmarked trail off of red but there did seem to be some light blue paint splotches here and there.

That trail comes out a little farther along on red.

Another trail off of red to the right, not on the  map.  The green blazes, however, stop right after the first few.  Must be a work in progress but the trail is well-defined and easy to follow through.

When it looked like that lime green trail was going into a development, I turned left on sand roads which led back to red.

Heading back to the parking lot on green.

Crowded parking lot later in the day.

The map shows a short trail in black on the other side of Kettle Run Road at that kiosk so I wanted to do that quickly.

This would be that trail but I never actually hiked that trail.

Instead I took an unmarked trail from the kiosk and went exploring.

No crossing here, had to turn around.

Tons of trails over on this side and not another person around.

Except...

and ...

The trail I was on came out at Kettle Run Road.  I turned right, walked a short distance, then turned left just before this sign on an unmarked trail.

The unmarked trail ...

... runs smack into the orange trail.

The green trail with fencing across the bog.

Coming out on the green trail.