Hiking in Turkey Swamp County Park

The parks are open again so we headed for another Monmouth County Park for a nice hike.  We took the Manasquan Trail and walked about 3 miles.  We found one, and possibly the only, advantage of the pandemic and the need for social distancing.  We only met up with a few people on the trail and each time we put on our masks and stepped off the trail to let others pass.  And one time we stepped off the trail we found a lady slipper orchid, which we would have walked right past otherwise.  That was the only one in bloom but there were lots of other leaves and buds.

We also found lots of Jack-in-the-pulpit and spring beauty.

Hiking in the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area

Today's walk was 2.8 miles in the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area in East Brunswick.  We were looking for seclusion so entered the trail from Miller Ave.  There were several water hazards at the beginning but the rest of the trail was nice and dry.  We did the Cedar Swamp Trail loop.  There was evidence of dirt bikes on much of it so we wouldn't want to be there on a weekend.

Hiking in Rancocas State Park

We met our daughter at Rancocas again, picking up groceries she bought for us and then taking a nice walk.  And visiting the frog pond.

Hiking in Wharton State Forest

Our walk today was for 4 miles on the Mullica River Trail south from Atsion in Wharton State Forest.  We realized we probably should have driven in Quaker Bridge Road for a while so we could pick up the trail further along toward Batsto.  We'll do that next time but will have to take the Forester.

Hiking in Shark River Park

Now that Covid-19 is keeping us indoors except to exercise, and because our neighborhood roads are full of people walking, we are looking for new places to have a solitary walk in the woods.  Today we had a wonderful 2 1/4 mile woodsy walk along the Hidden Creek trail in Shark River Park, about a 35 minute drive away.

And because we were so close to Neptune, we couldn't resist picking up a pizza at Pete and Elda's to take home.  They had a good take-out setup to keep us safe from the virus.

Walking the Princeton Tow Path

We finally got back on the tow path in Princeton today.
























We went to another fabulous talk at 55Plus, went to lunch at PJ's in Kingston, then walked for a short while on the path.  My sore hips wouldn't allow much of a walk, but the sunshine was great and the temperature moderate.  Spring is clearly in the air.