Checking out the new Wildlife Loop trail at Rutgers Ecological Preserve.
I’d seen that there was a new addition to the trail system and as this park is convenient for when we need a quick hike we decided to hit it up.
And also see how the foliage change was progressing: glacially slow. Like everywhere this year. Sigh.
The new Wildlife Trail a 1.4 mile loop off of the ORANGE trail. We meandered around, choosing our next trail at each intersection and ended up with:
Route: ORANGE – BLACK – GREEN – RED – YELLOW – GREEN – ORANGE
Miles: 3.5
For detailed hike directions visit our main “Rutgers Ecological Preserve” page.
We started from the Scarlet Lot parking area (pretty sure this is OK on weekends only; weekdays needs a parking permit) which is closest to the new trail.
Looking back from the trailhead kiosk, the parking area is to the left of that big building.
The trail markers have a fox on them… and for a second during the trail we thought we spotted a real one… but then realized it probably was a cat.
The trail has a bridge and a long plank boardwalk section.
After looping around, we chose trails at random. There are a lot of trails and intersections so it’s best to have the map handy.
Informational signs along the way.