ABOUT THE PARK:
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.79259, -74.50335
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| Roadside parking on Hillcrest Avenue at the entrance gate to Jones Woods. |
TRAIL MAP:
HIKE DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
THE HIKE:
Six-year-old granddaughter Ellie was very upset when I spent the previous day
hiking with her baby brother Teddy, when Ellie had other commitments, so I had to promise her a hike the following day and she held me to that! She was very excited to scout out these trails with me as neither of us had been there before.
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| Entering the trails at the gate on Hillcrest Avenue. |
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| The gravel road goes downhill ... |
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| ... to a bridge to ... |
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| ... the yellow trail around the pond where we turned right. |
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| Jones Pond |
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| Old stonework to the right. |
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| We turned right on white. |
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| Rock hopping over a small creek. |
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| Navigating a muddy section. |
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| More mud. There was lots of mud in low lying areas. |
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| Ellie was paying VERY close attention to where the white markers were so she was sure we were going the right way. |
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| The white trail comes out on Mendham Road where there are no more white markers. |
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| Ellie was not convinced that we were going the right way. I had to assure her we needed to cross the creek on the road and that if it was wrong, we would just turn back. |
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| Still not convinced, she reluctantly came along. |
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| And indeed, just the other side of the guardrail, the trail entered back into the woods and the white markers resumed. |
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| Ellie, being a Girl Scout, was very impressed that an Eagle Scout had built the benches. |
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| Taking yellow from white. |
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| Heading for that bench up by the pond for a break. |
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| Ellie commented how peaceful it was there. |
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| Passing by where we had turned on white earlier ... |
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| ... and continuing around the pond. |
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| Right on blue. |
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| There was a very muddy stretch early on and one of Ellie's feet slid in, the mud sucking the shoe right off of her foot! |
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| Photo by Ellie |
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| At green we had to make a decision whether to stay with blue or turn left on green. Ellie decided we should take green so green it was. |
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| Green meets back up with blue so we continued on blue. |
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| Photo by Ellie |
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| At red we had to decide whether to stay on blue or turn left on red. Ellie chose red. |
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| Ellie found a red-tailed hawk feather. Of course it was left in nature where it belongs. Photo by Ellie |
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| Back at the pond to finish the loop on yellow. But first ... |
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| Ellie went left to the bridge to take a photo of ... |
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| ... the pond. Photo by Ellie |
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| Then a photo of ... |
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| ... the creek feeding the pond. Photo by Ellie |
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| Then me taking a picture of Ellie ... |
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| ... and Ellie taking a picture of me. |
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| Ellie taking a picture of the bridge. |
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| Photo by Ellie |
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| Back to the bridge from the beginning of the hike ... |
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| ... and up the gravel road to the car. |
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| Ellie clanged her shoes together to get some of that dried mud off. |
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| Ellie's opinion of this hike. |
