Love! We had the most idyllic bike ride here from Easton to Stockton (about 33 miles) with stops…read morealong for drinks and lunch. It's well maintained, mostly gravel though so if you have a road bike you'll have a little more resistance but it was such a beautiful ride--- Delaware river on our left and the canal on our right. It's also reasonably used so every 15 min or so we came across others on bike or walking so never felt isolated. It makes for the perfect leisure ride with stops on the way. The towpath runs parallel to the Delaware and Raritan in NJ but we stayed on the Pennsylvania side to be wedged between water on both sides. Stops worth mentioning along the way-- The Narrows, Golden Pheasant Inn and off the trail walking the bridge (must dismount) to the NJ side in Stockton, Starving Artists Cafe.

Very nice place to take a walk, bike ride, or run on a dirt path along the Delaware River. The…read morepath is kept clean & free of debris. Very easy to park as there are multiple parking lots along the trail. The trail offers glimpses of the river & has a lot of beautiful wildflowers & different kinds of tree's along the trail. Very few port-a-johns & the one's we encountered were not clean. Other than that, it's an enjoyable trail.

New Jersey has a lot of excellent hiking spots. It's understandable that most of them are in pretty…read morerural areas with tons of room to roam/explore. So when I found out there was a 5.7-mile hike in the immediate vicinity of Bridgewater/Somerville, I was pretty skeptical. This is a pretty chaotic section of the state, with a lot of major highways interconnecting and a mall and heinous traffic circle thrown in for good measure - it's not the first or 100th place I'd think of for a hike. That remains the case. You can't force the design of a hike, and this is a clear example of a situation where you should have had, say, a mile's worth of trails and left it at that. My chum and I came here on Saturday to take advantage of the unseasonably warm early December weather. It was mostly cloudy throughout the hike, but the temperature steadily rose and the sun was largely out by the end. It had been raining pretty steadily the prior day so we were expecting and encountered a lot of mud and some mild rock hopping, but nothing egregious. Both of us opted for running shoes over hiking/trail shoes; it was a LITTLE rockier than I expected and in hindsight I would have gone with the latter for better support, but I didn't suffer any consequences for the decision. Our trek started at the entrance/parking lot off of Newmans Road (spacious, easy to spot with a pretty clean port-a-potty; there were drops on the seat but that's people being animals and not a reflection on the park) following the red trail running roughly parallel to the Washington Valley Reservoir before crossing Chimney Rock Road and heading up and down the orange trail in a quasi loop that runs alongside the East Branch Reservoir before another brief foray on a road (this one Gilbride Rd) and then doing another loop on the yellow trail that goes up to the Chimney Rock Outlook before circling back to Gilbride, at which point you basically complete the prior orange loop and then head back on the other side of the Washington Valley Reservoir to the parking lot. If that sounds overly complicated, you're right. There are two huge issues that mar this hike for me. One is that whoever designed the trails/blazes for this place had no idea what they were doing. Literally every possible trail and offshoot is painted with a blaze, always the same color as the "main" trail. As such, it's incredibly difficult to follow an official hiking itinerary because every fork in the trail has two choices with the same color blaze. Incredibly foolish and short-sighted. We had to VERY carefully stop each time, look at the map in our book AND double-check the GPS/map on the AllTrails app (which I hate doing) just to make sure we were on the right path. There's no reason to put a blaze on literally any walkable route like that; no idea what they were thinking. The other problem is what I alluded to earlier - this is a populated area with minimal room to hike so you end up by definition having to cross and briefly walk alongside busy roads. Chimney Rock was incredibly busy midday on Saturday, and cars were whizzing by us the entire time (the first section was probably about two minutes long, while the second was five minutes - believe me, it felt longer). I'm stunned people don't get hit there, especially since there's not a lot of room off to the side for pedestrians. If you're at the point where you're brainstorming a hiking trail and you can't avoid having the hikers come into contact with moving vehicles, that's probably a clue to scrap the plans. The big selling point of this hike is Chimney Rock, which was apparently a lookout point for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. That's all well and good, but for the money they spent to put up a protective fence and pave the trail here, they couldn't be bothered to maintain the actual rock, which is covered by broken beer bottle glass. And I'm sure General Washington had a much prettier view back in the day than we did; we were treated to the gorgeous scenery of the Stavola Bound Brook Quarry - crushed stones as far as the eye can see! The best part of the hike by far was the last section on the northern side of the Washington Valley Reservoir, and this is the part I'd actually preserve for walking, etc. It definitely helped that the sun was out at this point, but there was a cute bridge and a lot of bird activity. My chum is an avid birdwatcher and will likely be returning to this part with her camera. We also encountered a fallen tree (picture attached) that was taken down by a beaver. Very cool sighting. Head over to Watchung Reservation if you're in the area and want to commune with nature. You may hear the sounds of Route 78 but at least you won't be crossing that highway as part of your hike.

The Washington Valley State Park parking lot is basically a hidden driveway with a small,…read moreinconspicuous sign that suddenly pops up out of nowhere after you've been driving for a while on Newmans Lane. Recommend using GPS to navigate lest you miss the entrance. The park is also accessible from Vosseller Avenue at Millers Lane, though Google Maps will default to Newmans Lane when you chart a route to "Washington Valley State Park". The Newmans Lane entrance seems to be popular with mountain bicyclists and dog walkers. The highlights of this park are the Washington Valley Reservoir and raptor watching in autumn. Otherwise, the trails are pretty low-key (boring even) which make for some relatively quiet walks, which are only interrupted occasionally by the sound of scurrying chipmunks and teenagers jumping into the reservoir in the summer. As another reviewer noted, some of the more remote parts of the trails are not thoroughly blazed, but you should be able find your way even without trail markers. Be sure to grab a park brochure from the wooden bulletin board at the trailhead if you need help navigating. The brochures are also great for swatting away gnats. The red trail has a lot of rocks/gravel and multiple changes in elevation, so you might want to wear shoes with sturdy soles and firm grip. The reservoir does not have a boat ramp but has various trails and rock formations for shoreline fishing (license required, of course). Random trivia: back in 2015, a convicted sex-offender was sighted here fishing before being arrested. With that being said, remember to curb your dog and be sure to leave before the park officially closes 1/2 an hour after sunset.

Ralph Stover State Park and overlook is quite honestly one of my favorite places on this earth…read more We go every year once the squelching summer heat and humidity leave us and the breezy fall days arrive. The overlook provides acres of hiking lands, scenic overlooks and peaceful vistas, There is a lot to see as you wander the park. Hawks dance in the skies over the Tohickon creek. Rock climbers ascend and repel the massive rock formations. Squirrels and chipmunks scurry about. There are paths but not so much paved trails, but it is easy to roam without fear of loosing your bearings. Fences and rails provide safety if children are afoot, but fear not there are plenty of access to areas to climb and explore for avid hikers seeking a challenge.

We were looking for decent hiking fairly close to Malvern and stumbled upon this place online…read more It's really more for rock climbing, but you can go for a nice walk along the ridge too. The views of the gorge into the river at the beginning are really pretty. The trail we took went down to the river too. I'm not sure we followed an actual trail, but we walked around for 1-2 hours. If you're looking for hiking and very scenic views, this probably isn't your place. It's a good place to get outside and get some fresh air though.

Nice trail along one side of the creek. My only suggestion would be for them to put up a visual map…read moreof the trail because we made the mistake of going from one end, down to the bridge and didn't realize the the trail abruptly ends (we were left in a situation where we had to turn back or continue on to an area that was without a sidewalk and maybe may not have been as safe possibly - we thought maybe the sidewalk might pick back up so we continued on and thankfully we're safe though we had to walk in the road a little due to a bit of a muddy situation). I hope they will possibly make the trail a loop around the creek to the bridge and the Silk center one day if that's possible to make the trek a bit nicer and safer. Also - I imagine that putting up a sound barrier might be very cost prohibitive so walkers should be aware that there's a section that goes close to the highway and is fairly noisy. Overall, I enjoyed my day & seeing the art installations and would recommend it as a place for others to visit.

Easy paved trail along the creek. It's part of the two rivers trailway and features interesting art…read moreexhibits. Shaded by trees and is a pleasant walk. It's not a loop so you'll backtrack. Only downside is the busy highway so it's loud.

Very small spot. Pretty area. Short stop to stretch legs and see nature. Not worth going out of the…read moreway for but if you're close stop by.

the place is good for hikers! but i went with family. to get the damn you had to go down a super…read moresteep hill and back up to it. Was not able to get a good view from the distance

Plenty of parking for trailers, well maintained launch little steep but great also has a dock, and…read morekayakers have there own little launch areas so they dont clog up ramp which kayakers are notorious for

My review has nothing to do with Merrill Creek (MCR) itself, we have been hiking / kayaking here…read morefor a number of years...the place is as described by previous Yelp postings. We took our two seat kayak last Saturday (trailered) and we were met at the reservoir parking area by a very officious / rude "security guard" (ORSG) ....at least we assumed it was a security guard, I didn't see any logos or ID on this ORSG. This ORSG was, to say the least, a little "heavy-handed" and clearly ORSG wasn't really a reservoir/boat savvy person. ORSG proceeded to tell us that we'd have to park our vehicle in a parking spot and carry our 75 lb kayak back down to the boat ramp. On all previous visits, even when an attendant has been present, we've pulled to one side of the ramp and qickly off-loaded the kayak to the ramp or the adjacent kayak launch area, without causing any disruption to boat launchers using the ramp. We have also used the ramp with our trailer. Furthermore, we were told by ORSG that wearing life-jackets / PFD's was mandatory. I mentioned that NJ (and most other states) only require that adults carry life jackets on their watercraft...(the NJ regs. are stated on the Merrill Creek General Rules & Regulations...however somewhat baffling is the fact that MCR over-rides the state regs. and does require the wearing of PFD's while on the water). The GR&R were kindly thrust at me by ORSG...lol Now here's the kicker...having "read us the riot act" and we complied, we launched our kayak with ORSG watching...while no less than three other kayakers launched their kayaks from the boat ramp...with their PFD's strapped to their kayaks !!!....talk about "stupid" ! Upon returning to the ramp...a second security company employee (she had just arrived in a mini-SUV) instructed us to move our kayak off the ramp...I informed this young lady that we had a trailer and I was about to retrieve it. This young lady relented and allowed us to quickly load our tandem kayak onto its trailer from the boat ramp...strike one for commonsense ! Meanwhile, ORSG was busy untying the powered dinghy from its dock and taking off into the reservoir....without wearing the required PFD !...lol (I have the video). BTW...there was a total of circa ten or less cars / trucks / trailers in the parking lot...quite surprising given the beautiful weather last Saturday. That said, maybe word is already "out" that Merrill Creek has become a PITA to deal with...what a shame. One small consolation..on a recent visit we got up close and personal (through a Samsung 'phone telephoto lense) with one of the reservoir residents..we saw two pairs that day...quite spectacular !

Wonderful, peaceful spot. Interesting variety of terrain. Trails are marked surprisingly well.read more

I came here but the building was closed. However they still had some awesome trails available to…read moreexplore. Parking at the trail heads is simple and well marked. I took the Army trail. It was a nice peaceful stroll. There is a little waterfall that sounds so very soothing about 1/2 mile in. The trail is well marked and maintained. They do not allow dogs on the trails, which is odd because I saw a lot of paw prints in the mud. The trails are very quiet and not than many people go on them. I was the only one on the trail that I was on. I think this is one of the better trails in the area because of its maintenance, ease to get to and through there, quietness, and little to no other people on the trail. I will tray and make it back here soon to check out the building and another trail.

Duke farms is such a beautiful place to visit. First off parking is free but you must reserve your…read moreparking ahead of time. It was pretty easy and simple to reserve parking ticket. I went to Duke Farms around 2ish and the parking lot was full but I did find a parking spot. There are many different trails to walk and bike. I saw that you can rent a bike and I saw visitors with their own bikes. This is definitely the perfect spot for a cute small picnic with friends or family or even a cute date idea. They also have a cafe on site and public restrooms in the main building. I only had time to go to orchid range which was nice. I brought my kindle with me and sat inside and enjoyed the greenery and read for a little. I have to go back to Duke Farms and have a little picnic one of these days.

I never mean to gatekeep this place but it's nice that photoshoots aren't allowed because this is…read morejust not the place for that. There is beauty in leaving nature be while still protecting the wildlife. I love that it's free for the public with reservations just for Saturdays and bikes for two hours rentals at a reasonable price. We even saw a red tailed hawk up close this timewhich was really cool! We will continue to visit for years to come. Lots of people stroll through but it's great for runs too! Lots of variation between slight hills and flats. Just watch out for ticks and snake in grass in the summer.