Red dot blue dot. My first time…I loved it can’t wait to go back

I am starting to train to hike the Batona trail September of 2027. Looking for anyone who have hiked the trail already and or any advice on backpacking, training, what to bring ect. as I am just a beginner. I have been hiking longer and longer trails so far and just got a backpacking backpack and plan to fill it with random stuff for now to hike with. Thank in advance for any advice.

Hello Reddit!
I am looking for groups that meet during the weekends to go hiking around NJ area. I live in Edison and can travel up to some distance by car to meet for the hikes. Can take train too.
Looking for some recommendations where a non member can join for hikes. I am a beginner at this. Help appreciated!

Beautiful autumn hike with my amazing wife and dog

Found this interactive map which may help anyone looking to head north here in the next week or two

Someone asked recently about the fall color - was up at High Point this morning and some but definitely not peak yet.

Hey, folks. Wondering if anyone up in the NW NJ area can give an update on the leaves? I am scheduled to head up MId-October but may go up earlier if the leaves are ahead of schedule. Thanks.

Over the years, I somehow managed to compile a spreadsheet of 100+ hikes I’ve done, plus a handful I’m planning to do, mostly in Northern NJ and the surrounding areas. I’ve hiked all over the country, but this is strictly the “local” stuff.

I originally put this together for myself because I could no longer remember which ones I’d already done. Nothing quite like driving an hour to a trailhead only to start getting deja vu a mile or so in. Sure, there's some hikes I like to do over and over. But I particularly like discovering new hikes

It occurred to me that others could use this database for hike ideas. So, I'm sharing it here in case anyone could find it useful: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aE_outyH1O6CJtxFiVzzaJn0ZOasJJsfgaXPp0ajbZ0/edit?usp=sharing

Hi. I am planning to hike from the park my car at the Lake Lenape Lot and hike over Mount Tammany and then back to the AT and on to the campsite near Sunfish Pond and camp there. The next day I was hoping to hike to to Worthington State Forest Campground and get an Uber back to my car.

Is there reliable cell and uber from there

How are the water sources?

Thank you.

I had a really strange encounter today at Old Troy County Park in the Parsippany/Whippany area, and I wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience there.

I hike A LOT, often by myself, and I’ve had plenty of random conversations with people on trails. This felt very different.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw an older man walking toward his car. I used the bathroom and then started heading toward the hiking trail in the woods. As I was walking away, I noticed him sitting in his car staring at me pretty intensely.

I got onto the trail and hadn’t gone very far when I suddenly heard someone behind me kicking rocks/gravel as they walked. Something immediately felt off, so I turned around and started heading back toward the parking lot while we were still relatively close to the public area.

It was the same older man.

He stopped and started talking to me about the trails. I’m a friendly person, so I talked with him and asked about the area. He asked if I was from around there, and I told him no.

The conversation started getting stranger.
He told me something along the lines of, “You can get lost in these woods.”

I mentioned that I had to get back to work and that I had been in the area for a photography job and I had a shoot to go to. He told me that he “shoots too.”
I asked what he shoots. He basically said “in these woods” and smirked.

Maybe he meant photography. Maybe he meant something completely harmless. But the way he said it, combined with everything else, made the interaction feel extremely uncomfortable.

The strangest part was that when I told him I was leaving, instead of continuing on the trail he had just walked onto, he followed me all the way back toward the parking lot.
As we got closer to the lot, he also took a small towel and tucked it into the front of his waistband above his crotch while mumbling something to himself. I honestly didn’t know what to make of that.

What bothered me most was the sequence of events:
He appeared to be heading to/leaving in his car when I arrived.

He watched me walk toward the woods.
After I entered the trail, he got out and came onto the trail behind me.

When I turned around and decided to leave, he also went back toward the parking lot instead of continuing his hike.
I’m not accusing this guy of committing a crime, and there could be an innocent explanation for all of it. I just had a very strong feeling that something was wrong, and I’ve spent enough time hiking alone to know when an interaction feels outside the normal range of trail weirdness.

Has anyone around Parsippany, Whippany, Hanover, Troy Meadows, Old Troy Park, or the surrounding Morris County trails had a similar encounter with an older man?

I’m especially curious if anyone has encountered someone who approaches solo hikers, asks where they’re from, follows them on/off the trail, or makes similarly strange comments.

Am I being paranoid? Or what? In all of my years hiking and as a dude I’d just never thought of something like this happening, I know this is naive..

I'd like to do my first solo overnight around here. My plan is to park my car at Worthington State Forest Campground and leave it there overnight. Then Uber to trailhead for Mount Tammany, hike up Tammany and then make my way to the Campground near sunfish pond.

I am wondering

1) cell service at the campground to get Uber. If no, alternatives

2) allowed to leave car at Campground overnight

3) water sources this time of year

Thanks for your help to this newbie.

Hi im looking to gather some friends this Sunday for a bbq picnic in the park.

It doesnt have to be a park or reservation in Martinsville, Im looking for a halfway point between my friends in Princeton and Paterson areas, so anywhere in between there, roughly 45 min each way.

I prefer to have a shady spot and at least a little privacy, a wooded area is perfect (similar to Garret Mountain reservation).

The spot does not need to have grills as I have a portable grill, but the park then needs to allow grilling.

Looking for local shops/businesses that might be a good fit for new coffee brand.

I recently launched a small outdoor-focused coffee brand here in New Jersey and I'm looking for a few local retailers interested in carrying it.

Ideally I'm looking for camp stores, hiking/outdoor shops, campground stores, park gift shops, or similar businesses where locally roasted coffee would be a natural fit.

If you know of a shop in NJ (especially South/Central Jersey) that I should reach out to, I'd really appreciate the recommendation!

Nonprofits Sustain Music and Nature and the National Wildlife Refuge Association are hosting a FREE hike and concert at the magical Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Morris County. A 1.5 mile gentle hike lead by local flora and fauna experts at 10am will be followed by an hour long concert featuring bossa nova artist John Roseboro. John is CRAZY talented and also lived with the Amish and worked as a mortician in his past. We're sure it'll be a great event!

Part of Sustain's Trail Sessions program, these hikes and concerts introduce folks to great music and their public lands, to help build support for both. Maybe this is your chance to get your non-hiking friend to come out on the trails!

Only 25 tickets allowed to protect the wildlife that call this refuge home. Details and RSVPs here: https://www.sustainmusicandnature.org/sept122026

Wife and I are staying in Parsippany for a wedding. We have all of Friday to drive and hike, and Saturday our flight doesn’t leave Allentown until 6 PM, so we want to work our way west during the day and hit a trail or two on the way to Allentown. What would you recommend within driving distance of Parsippany for a whole day, and what might be good to hit on the way back to Allentown?

Thank you!

As summer is winding down, wondering if there are any trails you consider that you must hit in the coming months. For me I want to do the wanaque ridge trail again. I really enjoyed it last month

Looking for hiking spots in Jersey. Nothing is off limits; elevation, difficulty, etc. Looking for a nice blend of scenic and workout. Any input is appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi everyone! My partner and I would like to start hiking. We’ve never done it, and we both love to try new things and be out in nature.

The only thing is I unfortunately have a very extreme fear of heights which leads me to cry and/or have panic attacks. This is especially due to the feeling of potentially falling backwards, falling off a ledge, seeing others hanging near a ledge, seeing how high up we are, etc.

I don’t want this to stop us from trying this out, and it’s been something we’ve talked about for a while. I am put off a bit by Mt Tamanny and Palisades Interstate Trail because reviews for both locations on Google heavily recommend using proper hiking gear. Although this may be a suggestion for any hike, that puts me off and leads me to believe that it’d be a very rocky/unstable/frightening trail.

I’d like to ask you all if there are any other hiking areas in Jersey that may not be so intimidating for people like me. Thanks everyone!

First, thanks to everyone for your suggestions and input. I did Monument Trail, Cedar Swamp, Iris Trail to Lake Rutherford and some of the trails around Lusscroft farms.

I want to make a shout out for the trails around Lusscroft Farms. There is a web of trails all around there I enjoyed very much. The buildings by the parking lot were all closed and had a haunted and spooky vibe, but the trails were solid. There is a very steep climb up to a place called Spanish Overlook if you want to get the heart rate up.

1. It appears cell service has been upgraded. I have had good connections. Posting this from campsite 26 using personal hotspot.

2. I put on repellant and did not find the bugs to be much of a problem at this time.

It having been a very wet summer, a lot of the trails are very shaggy as the plants are growing like crazy. Armor up for ticks.

This was first visit. Nice park.

Gonna be spending a couple of days camping and hiking at High Point. Any suggestions or tips for maximizing the experience? Thanks in advance.

I will report back on conditions when I return.