Doggin Jersey: The 10 Best Places To Hike With Your Dog In The Garden State

Doggin Jersey: The 10 Best Places To Hike With Your Dog In The Garden State Have you ever considered how far you walk with your dog? If you walk just 15 minutes a day you will have walked far enough in your dog s lifetime to cross the United States. With all that walking ahead of you, aren t you ready for a new place to take a hike with your dog in New Jersey? Here are the Garden State s best trails to hike with your best friend... 1. Stokes State Forest What are you looking for on an outing with your dog - a variety of short, peaceful hikes? A strenuous , multi-hour trek that will have your dog sleeping the whole ride home? Memorable views? Lakes? Rushing streams? Stokes has it all. 2. Wills Mills County Park You say you want to experience the great Pine Barrens but don’t want to lose yourself with your dog on miles of unmapped, unmarked sand roads? This park will get you into the pinelands on paw-friendly trails through diverse habitats and, yes, throw in a bit of elevation change along the way. 3. Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area If this park just offered the interesting sights on the Pyramid Mountain trails it would be enough to get highly ranked but there’s a whole other trail system across the road! 4. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area The hike up Mount Tammany leads to the most famous view in New Jersey but coming down your dog will love the waterfalls in Dunnfield Creek even more. If you come when the mountain laurel is in full bloom you will truly find yourself on one of the best canine hikes in New Jersey. 5. Norvin Green State Forest There are plenty of places in northern New Jersey to disappear into the mountains with your dog but Norvin Green stands out with its variety of summits and a couple of waterfalls and played-out mines for flavor. 6. Clayton Park For no-frills canine hiking where you just jump out of the car and into a natural, uncrowded woodland with your dog it is hard to top this Monmouth County park. 7. Worthington State Forest Long canine hikes are on the menu here, studded with star destinations: Sunfish Pond, the Appalachian Trail, Rattlesnake Swamp, Van Campens Glen, Coppermines.... 8. Wharton State Forest What dog won’t love these flat, paw-friendly, packed-sand hiking surfaces in the Pine Barrens? And there are 500 miles of them! Pure, tea-colored streams percolate up through the sandy soil for excellent doggie swimming pools. 9. Island Beach State Park You can bring your dog here to swim in the ocean in the middle of the summer. Nuff said! 10. Parvin State Park The premier place to bring your dog for a hike in South Jersey. No hills and no views but your dog won’t be complaining and won’t be able to wipe the wag off her tail on these paw-friendly wooded trails. Parvin Lake is a great spot for your dog to jump in as well. Doug Gelbert is the author of over 20 books, including The Canine Hiker’s Bible. To subscribe to his FREE Newsletter on hiking with your dog and receive a copy of Rules for Dogs in 100 of the Most Popular National Park Service Lands, visit hikewithyourdog.com In the warmer months he leads canine hikes for hikewithyourdog.com tours, guiding packs of dogs and humans on hiking adventures. Tours, ranging from one-day trips to multi-day explorations, visit parks, historical sites and beaches.