Cheesequake State Park, NJ - Perrine Road Loop

ABOUT THE PARK:
Cheesequake State Park - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
This park charges an entrance fee between Memorial Day and Labor Day

DIRECTIONS:

GPS Coordinates 40.441165, -74.270801

Hooks Creek Lake Parking Lot

 

TRAIL MAP:
Cheesequake State Park Trail Map - NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Click here for track.

 

HIKE DISTANCE:  2.6 miles

THE HIKE:

It's been 7 1/2 weeks since total hip replacement surgery.  I have been doing a lot of doctor ordered walking but sidewalks get old fast.  Time for a little hike.  I am not using a cane at all any more and there is just a little bit of a limp at times but it gets better every day.  I am still not allowed on trails so I need to stay on smooth surfaces.  The trails in this park are too insanely crowded anyway.  As an alternative, we did a family hike on a stroller-friendly loop of paved and packed sand roads and paths where there weren't nearly as many people and lots of space to stay apart when we did encounter others. 

The grandchildren came along all bundled up on this cold, windy day.

We were also accompanied by Cheyenne,  the little brown dog I am dog sitting, granddog Sebastian and of course, Brodie, who hasn't hiked in 2 months. He stayed with the grandkids for 6 weeks and has only been back home for a little over a week.  He gets to go on my walks with me now but I don't think he counts that as hiking.

We continued through the parking lot towards the crabbing bridge.

So much better than walking in residential areas.

Up ahead is the trailhead parking where we did not park knowing it would be packed.

We came out at the trailhead lot, crossed over the park road and continued left on ...

... a path parallel to the park road which leads all the way back to Hooks Creek Lake parking.

Cheesequake State Park, NJ - Yellow and Blue Short Loop

ABOUT THE PARK:
Cheesequake State Park - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
This park charges an entrance fee between Memorial Day and Labor Day

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.436661, -74.265326

The parking lot almost empty at noon - unheard of!  Not too many people braved the cold.

 
TRAIL MAP:
Cheesequake State Park Trail Map - NJ Department of Environmental Protection

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HIKE DISTANCE:  2.6 miles

THE HIKE:
This was the third weekend in a row of single-digit feel like temperatures but Brodie and I could take it no more so we bundled up and headed to the state park closest to us for a short hike. Plus I had been breaking in a new pair of winter hiking boots that are supposed to keep your toes warm. That is the one thing that drives me nuts hiking in this awful cold - frozen toes.

Starting at the trail head.

I always hand a right on yellow at the fork and return from the left.

If people were more responsible with their dogs this would not happen and I always see irresponsible people letting their dogs run amok.  So frustrating.

At the bottom of these steps ...

... I leeve the yellow trail and take an unmarked path around the perimeter of the lake.

A patch of snow that survived the 60 degree weather on Friday before the arctic cold front come back.

Northern Flicker

Cutting through along the beach over to ...

... the Crabbing Bridge.

It was darned cold out here in the open.

It was, literally, as cold as this looks.

Some more unmarked trail to the left after Crabbing Bridge.

This unmarked trail, pretty easy to follow, leads right into the blue trail where we turned left.

This was all knocked out from Hurricane Sandy and I could never continue on since the boardwalk was destroyed.  But it's been a few years since I was here and it's all fixed and passable now.

Sometimes Brodie is a lot like Shawnee - forget those steps if we can.

Merging in with red and green before the interpretive center.

Bird houses at the interpretive center.

A little bit of an unfrozen cascade.  How is that possible in this cold?

And the final picture, almost at the end, before the battery in the camera completely died.  This was a spur of the moment hike so nothing had been charged up.

As far as these new winter hiking boots - and I know you are all wondering because who likes frozen toes?  I could not believe how warm my feet stayed in these boots and they were comfortable, too.  They were a little bulky and I tripped on roots a few times so had to be conscious of that.

I ordered them from Cabela's since they were $99.88 and the rest of the world sells them for $149.99.  I am not a big fan of Merrell but I have to say, these boots are great.  No more frozen toes.  I had read in reviews to order a half size up to accommodate thicker winter socks, which I did and which was definitely the right thing to do.