Category: New Jersey State

Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park  
“The Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is one of central New Jersey’s most popular recreational corridors for canoeing, jogging, hiking, bicycling, fishing and horseback riding. The canal and towpath are part of the National Recreational Trail System. The 70-mile linear park is a valuable wildlife corridor connecting fields and forests.”
Here is the Park website.  609-924-5705   Map
“Both the Main Canal Trail, which runs 34 miles in length, and the Feeder Canal Trail at 31.5 miles are ADA accessible.”  

Cape May Point State Park
The park’s 244 acres on the southern tip of New Jersey has “…constantly changing shoreline, dunes, freshwater coastal marsh and ponds, forested islands and varied uplands.”  
Here is the Park website.   Phone 609-884-2159
Red Trail  “is .5 miles, and is wheel chair accessible. This trail offers hikers access to both the lighthouse pond west and east. Each pond has a blind or platform at the water’s edge to view wading birds, ducks, swans, as well as the occasional osprey…..”
There are two other easy, short trails – the 1.5 mile Yellow Trail and 2.0 mile Blue trail.   You may need to step up to and down from boardwalks, but I was told by the attendant at the visitor’s center that they are in no way strenuous.

Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
“…hikers can follow the sandy trails and roads that crisscross the forest, sometimes passing near the remains of stone or brick structures or where large depressions indicate the location of what was once a bustling town. Pure, iron-rich streams flow through acres of swampy land covered with dense stands of Atlantic white cedar.”   The park used to be called Lebanon State Forest.
Here is the Forest website.   Trail Map  Contact: 609-726-1191
Cranberry Trail  1.1 mile loop.  The blog South Jersey Trails has some images of it.
 The sandy, pine needle-covered trails to Pakim Pond and Mt. Misery appear to be quite easy, although maybe longer than you would want to complete.  They are described in nj hiking.

Bass River State Forest
“Lake Absegami, a 67-acre lake created in the 1930’s, is the center of the Forest’s recreational activities and provides an area for swimming and a serene setting for boating and canoeing.”  The Forest has eight easy walking (non-ADA accessible) trails from 1 to 3.2 miles.  All trails start at the second parking lot at the beach.  A trail brochure is available at the office.  Map and description of trails.  Phone 609-296-1114.   Here is the Forest Website.
? A self-guided 0.5 mile trail through the 128 acre Absegami Natural Area passes through a pine/oak woods and a small Atlantic white cedar bog. It includes a wooden foot bridge with benches.  I have not found a description of just how easy (or not) this trail is.  Call to learn more.