Millstone Valley, D & R Canal

Millstone Valley, D & R Canal State Park (9/5/2009)

This is hike #27 ("The Delaware and Raritan Canal - Millstone Valley") in Hiking New Jersey: A Guide to 50 of the Garden State's Greatest Hiking Adventures (1st edition).

It may have been because of the weather (which was perfect), or the euphoria of a three-day holiday weekend, but whatever the reason this was without a doubt one of the prettiest walks/hikes we have ever done in New Jersey. After parking in the lot just off Route 27 in Kingston, and beginning our trek by walking through the corrugated metal tunnel which passes under Route 27, we weren't prepared for the breathtaking beauty that awaited us as we ascended to the towpath. The sunlight dancing through the trees and reflecting in the water was magnificent.

It's a 4-mile loop between Kingston and Rocky Hill, the first half on the beautiful narrow towpath of the D & R Canal with the Millstone River to the left and the canal to the right. The path is so narrow in parts that the water from the river and from the canal is separated by no more than the ten foot strip upon which you trod! At Rocky Hill the path proceeds past an abandoned quarry and returns via the grade of the defunct Camden & Amboy Railroad. We also took a quarter-mile side-trip to Rockingham, where George Washington spent three months awaiting the signing of the Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolution. Legend has it he gave his farewell address to his troops (many of whom wept) from the balcony of the house.

Total distance covered was over 4.6 miles in less than 2 hours.

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