A fall hike through Lord Stirling Park (w/Boondock Boardwalk)

This past weekend, we stopped in at one of our favorite Somerset County Parks: Lord Stirling Park. It has been many years since our last visit and we are very happy we did!

The Great Swamp Experience

The first improvement we found was to the exhibits in the basement. I don't remember ever seeing these (maybe I just never checked them out?), but they were much better than expected. VERY well done, very educational, simply a great setup...

Boondock Boardwalk

Next, the Boondock Boardwalk section (on the northern side) had been damaged and closed many years ago. But with the hard work of donations and volunteer time, it has been reopened... and it was lovely.

Trails

The trails overall are well marked and well maintained. There are always some muddy spots since we are in/near the great swamp of course. So wear your boots. It was cold out, so bugs were not an issue, but they can be in the summer. The color change was nice, with a good bit more of a change to come in the next few weeks.

Our Hiking Stats

So some stats... This was a slow hike since my 14-month-old son now wants to walk/hike more, but is slow and turns around a lot. Overall, we went 4 miles in an hour and 56 minutes. Total, I took 10,021 steps.

Final Thoughts

This park has always been on my list of favorite places in NJ. Each time we visit it seems to get higher on my list :) Have you ever been here?

Would you like to see all the photos from our trip? You can find them here.