Advice on overnight hikes in NJ/PA/NY

[jerzybears]

Get thee to the the Catskills. Miles of FUN!

[silentorpheus]

A bit late to the party but let me share the route I take for the last four years - Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail. A few points to take note of - it is uneven, a majority runs on one side of the canal and it a beast - some very unfriendly people in the southern area's and it looks like a war zone in others. I start at the Shabakunk Creek area on the eastern most side of Rt1. Great fishing in the Whitehead Pond to the east and there is still the canal to the west.

About a mile after Rt1 and I95 cross the trail overhead the area widens a lot, this is a former farm and depending on the day and time of day there is a rangers office you might want to check in with but they are totally cool with you hanging up on the edges of a field (they don't want anyone near the water as it is a flood zone).

There's two overlapping parks about 9 miles up (use Heathcote Brook as a way point) that makes for good camping. Don't set up far from the water - it puts you closer to the road and while the rangers have no issues with you the local PD does hourly circuits and you don't want to have a conversation with them at 3am. It's on a hill so the chance of a flood is very minimal - use the tree's banded with a checkerboard diamond, something I learned from another hammock slinger - some of those have been around since the 80's and area proven safe sites.

At Rt27 you want to shift to the west side of the trail - it becomes an island so you have water on both sides. Very few animals but the fishing is good and bring your camera. The island runs up to the Manville Causeway - a good two days if you explore everything, otherwise a long day's walk. While it isn't marked the trail continues to the eastern most point of the canal - about a mile ahead you'll be back on an island but it'll be narrow. If you know bad weather is due you don't want to be here! I woke up one morning with the river flowing a foot below me. Your best bet (and it will be a challenge) is to make it to the Main Street crossing of South Bound Brook - the island section picks up a lot of elevation but doesn't continue more than 1/2 mile beyond the bridge, you'll need to use the sidewalk to get to the south-east part of the canal park.

About a mile ofter the Main Street Crossing you'll come along a road (Easton Ave) and you'll want to follow that till you hear a lot of traffic - that'll be I287, there's a road that leads North, that doubles back on the island and take that for about two miles - very nice and high ground.

This next part is tricky - and I've confirmed this every year with the park rangers - you can go entirely on the island even though not all parts of it are marked as a park it is all Federal land. Head east and keep an eye out for elevated peaks in case of bad weather. A majority of the time you'll be adjacent to Johnson Park - not a bad place to check out but they don't allow over nighters in this section and there is no easy way to get across the canal. Stop at Landing Lane. Seriously, stop.

For this last leg, cross Landing Lane north to Johnson Park. Earlier the better with traffic. Proceed east and enjoy the sites, a well maintained park but with excellent fishing (I know I say that a lot but I don't bring anything but jerky and chex and try to find food on the way) and yes, they are fine with Hammocks as long as you are using a wrap on the tree's (and who isn't?)

It's a very fun trek to take, a 3-day on speed but an easy week with family (two small kids, 2 and 4 just completed this last week).

Hope that helps!

Atually, I live just down the road from where the D & R canal crosses route 27, and used to work at the restaurant that is right on the canal in Kingston. I do a lot of day hikes on it.

Not sure where your info is coming from, but the D & R Canal State Park is owned and maintained by the state of NJ and the NJDEP, etc. Authorized use is from sunrise to sunset, and the only place where camping is allowed along the entirety of the path/greenway is at Bull's Island state campground - and it's currently closed for the entire 2013 season due to unsafe conditions. Like all NJ State Parks, camping is only allowed at specified campgrounds. And the 'rangers' are actually now NJ State Park Police ... They won't even let you park overnight in the parking lots without writing you a ticket - I can't imagine that they would be fine with letting you camp anywhere along the path.

I'm also confused at your description of the trail - there's approximately 30 miles or so of canal path and virtually all of it is considered 'partially accessible to persons with disabilities'.

That's not to say that you haven't hiked and camped it in the past - but it certainly isn't a place where that is officially sanctioned. And to the best of my knowledge there's no 'federal land' anywhere along the canal ...