Voorhees State Park

Voorhees State Park (2/18/2012)

Today we headed southwest to Voorhees State Park, a park we've never visited in the past because, frankly, we could never find a map posted online. The state has a decent map for the park, but you can only get it by physically showing up at the office. It's perplexing that electronic copies aren't yet posted online. Oh well. Thanks to Daniela Wagstaff and her NYNJTC hike for 2/16/2012, we finally got a chance to see what was available here and it looked inviting enough to head out there today and to do the hike exactly as described. Daniela also posted a larger version of the map here on Google documents.

It's a very varied hike with meandering forest paths, at least two very nice climbs, a numbered tree trail where the numbers go from 1 to at least 24 though I could find no pamphlets with the tree identifications, a couple of stone seats, limited seasonal views and one open view to the Round Valley Reservoir, and (perhaps most fun of all) an observatory, albeit a closed one (at least today). There's also a short Solar System trail where interpretive signs give the history of each planet. Imagine reading about Jupiter when facing a shagbark hickory!

Total distance hiked today was 3.9 miles, in about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

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