Short Weekend Hike - Washington's Crossing (NJ) + Delaware Canal

SHORT WEEKEND HIKE
WASHINGTON'S CROSSING (NJ) + DELAWARE RIVER CANAL
7 Miles | 450 feet of elevation

DESCRIPTION
Join for a short three hour and seven mile hike exploring Washington's Crossing State Park (the New Jersey one) along with the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail. Honestly it's been years since I've hiked or explored the area, but the trails are well maintained and clearly marked, so we'll have no issues wandering our way around and while we plan on covering a solid seven miles or so, the plan is to wind our way through the park so on the off chance we get "lost", we won't have far to go to right ourselves. Forget if there are any big hills/climbs in the park, but AllTrails says about 400-450 feet of elevation, which isn't much for a seven mile hike so I wouldn't expect more than one or two big hills with some shorter "rock and roll" sections, what I call them, with ups and downs similar to the Wissahickon in Philadelphia.

Washington Crossing State Park is the site of General George Washington’s historic 1776 Christmas night crossing of the icy Delaware River. For almost ten hours, boats and ferries moved continuously back and forth carrying men, horses and cannon to the Jersey side. By midnight a strong storm had developed, hurling sleet, hail and snow at the rebel army. Landing at Johnson’s Ferry, the Continental Army still faced an arduous nine mile march to Trenton as the storm continued with a vengeance. Reaching Trenton in the early morning of December 26th, the American Army surrounded, defeated and captured over 900 Hessian mercenaries and secured a morale boosting victory of immeasurable proportions.

DISTANCE | ELEVATION | PACE

• LENGTH: 7 Miles +/- (7 is target)
• ELEVATION: 425 Feet +/- (425 feet is target)
• PACE: 3.0 Mph pace over the course of the hike

OBSTACLES | TERRAIN | SPECIAL NOTES

• OBSTACLES - This mostly "woodsy" hike with a short return trip on the canal path so plan your gear and expectations around mostly woods/outdoorsy obstacles like root/rock infested trails, uneven terrain, branches, etc. We will wind our way along a couple of creekside trails so plan on mud and maybe wet crossings depending recent weather and precipitation.
• TERRAIN - Nothing "special" about the terrain that I know of - but it's been years since I've been in the area so we'll figure things out as we go!
• SPECIAL NOTES - Nothing "out of the ordinary" that I know of, but plan on some exploration along the way.

BASIC INFO

• DAY & DATE: Sunday May 4th
• START TIME: 1:00 PM (AND WE START ON TIME!)
• LOCATION: Washington Crossing Bridge Parking Lot (NJ Side)
• ADDRESS: Titusville, NJ 08560
• LENGTH: 7 Miles +/- (7 is target)
• ELEVATION: 425 Feet +/- (425 is target)
• END TIME: 4:00 PM (hike done)

GEAR:

• Hiking boots or trail runners. Just keep in mind you want to wear something that's got good traction and you don't mind getting dirty, wet, etc. depending on trail conditions.
• Plenty of water
• Appropriate clothing
• A change of clothes for after (your discretion) especially shoes/socks
• I also advise people bring hiking bags as a practice for outdoor hikes
• Snacks/food as needed

MEETING SPOT & PARKING

• Washington Crossing Bridge Parking Lot
• Titusville, NJ 08560
• I believe it's free parking free in the lot
• DO NOT leave valuables in or anything visible in your car.
• I will post a comment with my outfit and upload a map with pin to the event photos when I arrive

BATHROOMS

• There MAY be bathrooms available at the start/end point - I don't recall but the area is wooded so..but there's also bathrooms in the park, I believe, so we will try and make at least one pit stop, but no more than two, during the hike

BREAKS/LUNCH

• We will one do one, 10 to 15 minute break around the halfway point, depending on the weather and people's feelings.
• We will stop a dozen or more times for a minute or so to grab photos, enjoy views, and let folks catch up.

AFTERWARDS

• If you would like to grab a beer and/or some food afterwards, please let me know in your sign-up reply so I can keep track of potential interest

CANCELLATIONS

• I do not cancel hikes for inclement weather. It must be dangerous conditions and/or dangerous travel. If I do need to cancel or postpone I do so as early as possible.
• You may cancel at anytime up to and including the start time of the hike. Cancellations without contacting me after the start of an event counts as a no-show. More than 3 no-shows gets you removed from the group.