We ended up at Morristown National Park for Veteran’s Day Weekend, hiking Jockey Hollow and a bit into the adjacent Lewis Morris Park.
It had been over two years since we’d done the Grand Loop and Mt Kemble Loop trails.
As soon as we drove into the park, it was apparent that Snowtober had taken it’s toll with many toppled trees, trees snapped in half, and many downed branches. Of course it was more of the same on the trails themselves.
For park info and maps, check out our main “Jockey Hollow” page.
Even though all the trails had been cleared, we passed so many blowdowns… many still with full fall foliage on them.
Foliage was well past it’s prime at the park and the trail was covered with a thick carpet of leaves, but there still was the occasional tree in full on yellow or golds.
We had decided to just go for a hike and not lug around the SLR or the video camera for a change, figuring that the park would be on the brown side… and it was.
This is a beautiful park regardless, but there aren’t many overlooks and w/o green or fall foliage, there wasn’t enough for us to warrant hauling the gear.
Sometimes you just want to hike.
We usually do the Grand Loop and Mt Tremble trail, but this time we added a little loop into Lewis Morris too. The Patriot Path connects the trail systems of both parks, allowing for the creation of long routes.
The trails here are easy and this route is moderate only due to length. There are a few hills but a lot of this park is flat, and it’s also not rocky like northern NJ tends to be.
Note: Lewis Morris allows hunting and there was a sign posting the days it would be closed for that – check the park site before heading out.
Miles: 9.1
Parking: Lot in the center of the park with bathrooms.
Route: BLUE – WHITE (Grand Loop) – BLUE (Patriots Path) into Lewis Morris – ORANGE – GREEN – GREEN/YELLOW – BLUE (Patriots Path) out of Lewis Morris – WHITE (Grand Loop) – BLUE
Wildlife spotted: 4 deer and the briefest glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker as it flew away.