ABOUT THE PARK:
Columbia Trail - Morris County Parks
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.78668, -74.78114
Long Valley Parking Lot |
TRAIL MAP:
The Columbia Trail - State of New Jersey
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HIKE DISTANCE: 8.8 miles (4.4 miles each way)
THE HIKE:
Al the poodle was staying with us so he came along. |
Way up ahead, zooming in to a turkey crossing the trail, |
A very curious deer. |
I need something to push the stroller up against to get Shawnee in and this works perfectly. |
Al likes to ride with her. |
I want. |
Although there is a lot of private land along the way, the trail also passes through a WMA for a good part of the way. |
A bridge over ... |
... Cascade Brook. |
South Branch Raritan River |
Most of the crossings are driveways. |
Crossing over ... |
... South Branch Raritan River. |
A fake blue heron. |
Shawnee sometimes gets whiny so I let her out to walk for a while. |
A major road crossing shortly before our turn around point. |
I zip down the front screen for busy road crossings. |
A short stretch in full sun. |
I also zip the screen down when other dogs pass because Al goes berserk otherwise. The screen down keeps him quiet. |
Just the other side of this bridge over Turtleback Brook ... |
... is a road crossing with parking for our next section which we will not be doing on a weekend. This trail is crazy busy on weekends. |
Turned around and heading back. |
No bird pictures today because every time I would try, a bike or joggers would zoom by so I just stopped trying. |
Back at the insanely busy parking lot which was almost empty at 6 AM. |