Goat Hill Overlook | njHiking.com

Delaware River, New Hope, and Lambertville covered in fall foliage seen from Goat Hill.

Easy hike to a fantastic view over the Delaware River, Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA.

1.0 or 2.4 miles – Easy, gravel path, somewhat uphill to main overlook. Longer route is a regular trail with light rocks.

1.0 miles – To the main overlooks and back; noted below.
2.4 miles – The full loop that includes two more overlooks.
Nearby – Combine with a hike to Washington Crossing or Baldpate Mountain (10-15 min drive), or Kugler Falls or Lockatong High Falls (20 min drive).

Hike Info:

–Trail Map
–Park info
–Interactive Map

Our two cents:

Short but popular walk with a nice payoff. Two picnic tables at the overlook. The full loop offers two more overlooks and should leave the crowds behind.

While part of Washington Crossing State Park, the park page doesn’t mention it. The njtrails.org site no longer has a page on it though the trail map is still there.

For a detailed history of the site and the preservation efforts that kept it from being turned into a quarry see “The Story of Goat Hill” as well as “Goat Hill Overlook is preserved“.

Updated: 11/2020 – Re-hiked; full loop. Added description for the longer loop, added photos, updated Interactive Map. Older change log at page bottom.

Map:

Print ahead, no paper maps in kiosk. Our Interactive Map linked above shows the full hike in blue with the short Overlook only hike in red over it.

Parking: N40.35300° W74.93729°

20 George Washington Rd, Lambertville, NJ 08530. From Goat Hill Road, turn on to George Washington Road. Take that straight all the way back and park in a small dirt lot on the left.

Do not park along the side of the road. This is often filled but has a relatively quick turnaround.

Restrooms:

None. If you are coming from Washington Crossing or Baldpate, that is the best bet. It’s also near Lambertville, NJ where there are shops.

Hike Directions:

Overview: Overlook Trail – WHITE (Quarry) – YELLOW (Goat Hill) – Overlook Trail

0.0 – From the small dirt lot, follow the wide gravel path up passing any side trails on the way. (This is the Overlook Trail but is not marked).

0.5 – The Overlook Trail ends at Goat Hill Overlook, an open grassy hill top.

Goat Hill overlooks the Delaware River to Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Lambertville and New Hope seen from Goat Hill Overlook.

Bright organge foliage in the foreground with the town of New Hope in the distance.

Retrace the Overlook Trail back to where the trail starts to curve around to the left.

0.7 – At the curve in the trail, turn RIGHT to follow a side trail to the overlook from Washington’s Rock.

Rocky outcrop overlooking buildings on the other side of the Delaware River.

Retrace the side trail back.

// 1.0 mile version: Take the Overlook trail down, retracing the route from earlier directly to the parking lot instead of continuing on WHITE. //

To do the full hike loop…. Turn LEFT to now follow WHITE (Quarry).

0.8 – Turn RIGHT for a RED side trail to Old Mill Overlook, a somewhat limited view. Return from the side trail and continue on WHITE (Quarry).

Long white building see through the trees on the other side of a river.

Pass a GREEN connector trail (might not notice it).

1.2 – Turn RIGHT for a RED side trail to Old Quarry.

There is a limited view but the reason for this side trail is the remains of the quarry (rock walls and rocks).

Return from the side trail and continue on WHITE (Quarry).

1.6 – Turn RIGHT for a RED side trail to South Overlook.

Yellow, orange, and green foliage lining a river.

Bowman’s Tower is just visible across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, at the far left.

Return from the side trail and continue on WHITE (Quarry). The trail hooks around and starts to head back at this point and may be slightly confusing.

1.7 – WHITE (Quarry) ends at a T-junction with YELLOW (Goat Hill). Turn LEFT to now follow YELLOW (Goat Hill).

Optional, add 0.2 miles total: RIGHT on YELLOW (Goat Hill) leads to the summit of Goat Hill. However, there is no view or anything to see (other than a large hole and the path splits in two directions). Skippable, unless you collect peaks. The summit is marked on our Interactive Map.

Continue following YELLOW (Goat Hill).

There are no views in this section, just a few rock walls and a couple of metal posts with water spigots, but it’s a pleasant walk.

Low yellow vegetation lining a trail through a forest.

2.0 – Pass GREEN (Central Connector) on the left.

2.2 – YELLOW (Goat Hill) runs into the Overlook Trail. Turn RIGHT to follow Overlook back to the parking lot.

—
Hiked: 10/31/20. All the trails. Just coincidence it was on Halloween again.
Hiked: 10/31/15. To overlook.

Updated: 5/2019 – New map (1/2019) added to site. Map had been updated to show marked trails (yellow, white etc).

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