Highlands and Sandy Hook Hike

Start & Finish: Popamora Point Park, Highlands, NJ - a loop walk. We'll start gathering at 8:30 - for check-in, bib distribution and any last minute instructions; we will start the walk at 8:45.
Distance: 14 miles with an optional 3.5 for Fort Hancock loop and more if you want to grab a drink in the Atlantic Highlands. All choices you can make that day.
Optional endpoints: Walkers are free to 'turn around' anywhere they wish; walking to Carton Brewery in Atlantic Highlands and to the start adds 4.5 miles; lunch at Moby's - 2 miles short of the Popamora Point parking lot - is another option.
Terrain: pavement, some gravel/dirt, flat; level except for walking over the Sandy Hook Bridge.
Transit: NJ Transit 834 bus - check schedules.
Parking: Free at Popamora Point Park.
Difficulty: moderate challenge, average pace (which includes 'stop' time) will be about 3.0 , so walking pace about 3.25 - 3.50 mph. Bathroom facilities are available at the start and along the trail (the trail is managed by the National Park Service so these facilities should be open and available to us).
Pack: bug repellent, water, food; check and prepare for forecasted weather - sun, rain, wind, etc.
Category: nature, scenic, history and seashore
Coordinator: John Codd & Jill Finver

Click to register for this event HERE

We will walk through Highlands village to the Sandy Hook Bridge, use the bridge walkway onto Sandy Hook and the Sandy Hook Multi-Use Path (MUP). The walk will take us unto the dune trail affording us the opportunity to walk the South Dune Trail, where we will experience a unique American Holly Forest with red cedar and black cherry trees sprinkled in. This is the largest forest of its kind on the East Coast and an important migratory stopover for birds.

Seven miles into the walk is one turn-around point (left turn) using the MUP heading south back to the start. Or we can continue north on a 3.5 loop through historic Fort Hancock, walking past Officers Row, World War 2 artillery batteries, the oldest standing lighthouse in the country, and more. We will stop at the History House, built in 1898 for a commissioned officer and his family, restored and furnished for the World War 2 period.

The return loop can either be directly on the MUP or the way we came which combined the Dune Trail, Fishing Beach Road and the MUP back to and over the Sandy Hook Bridge, THEN back to Popamora Point Park.
Atlantic Highlands Marina with great waterfront views of Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook and Carton Brewery are two places (of MANY in the area) to rehydrate and/or grab a bite to eat after your walk concludes.

Highlights:
- Highlands, a gentrifying (for better and worse) fishing village
- South Dune Trail's unique ecosystem
- Historic Fort Hancock
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse