Jockey Hollow

Jockey Hollow At A Glance...

• The army cut more than 600 acres of Henry Wick's trees in a single winter, for cabins and firewood.
• Wick's 1,400 acre farm made him the largest landowner in Morristown, and it is why the army camped here at all.
• The Grand Parade was 400 yards by 100 yards, with two cannon standing as alarm guns.
• Two soldiers were hanged and buried on the Grand Parade.
• It is a no-hunting park, and a trail connects to Lewis Morris County Park which is not - there is a sign at the junction.
• Todays Sunrise: 6:54 am,   Sunset: 6:40 pm  
• New Jersey Skylands Region Morris County
• Jockey Hollow is part of  Morristown National Historical Park

• Activities:

  • Hiking
  • Jogging / Running
  • Picnicking
  • Walking

  Amenities:

  • Restrooms/Bathrooms
  • Parking Lot(s)

  Trails:

  • Natural Surface (Dirt/Roots/Rocks)

  Park Type:

  • Historic Area

Contact / Location

A Brief History

The Continental Army quartered here twice: briefly in 1777, and then for the whole of the winter of 1779 to 1780 - the Hard Winter, and a harder one than Valley Forge.

They came for the trees. Henry Wick's 1,400 acre farm was mostly forest, which made him the largest landowner in Morristown and made his land the obvious encampment site: the army needed logs to build cabins and wood to burn for heat and cooking. Over that one winter they cut more than 600 acres of his trees, and more from his neighbors.

Major General Arthur St. Clair, commanding 2,000 Pennsylvania soldiers, took his quarters in the Wick farmhouse for the winter. The house is furnished today to show that use.

The cost fell on the people who lived here. Joshua Guerin farmed 76 acres nearby, served as a sergeant in the Morris County militia and sold the army hay and firewood - and still lost half his wheat crop to loose horses, had his fences burned, and had potatoes, rye, sheep, tools and his wife's clothing stolen by soldiers.

Trail & Path Info

The trail network crosses the park from two central trail parking areas as well as some near the Visitor Center, and it is easy to make loops of various lengths. A portion of the Patriots' Path runs through the center of the park and shares several trails.

The Grand Loop is the classic route at about 7.3 miles, or 6.9 if you cut across to the Wick House. Shorter options exist off the same network - roughly 3 miles if you stay on the Blue trail, and about 4.1 miles for the Grand Parade loop from a different trailhead.

The going is easier than the mileage suggests: dirt and roots underfoot rather than rock, well-marked throughout, with gentle elevation changes and a few slightly steeper hills. njHiking rates the Grand Loop as easy.

Trail maps cost a dollar at the visitor center, and most junctions carry a sign with a map and a 'you are here' marker - so it is hard to get properly lost even without one.

Things to See & Do

The Jockey Hollow Visitor Center is the place to start. It is a mid-1970s building holding a large mural of the 1779 to 1780 encampment, a full-scale model of a soldier's log cabin and a short film, plus a gift shop, restrooms and an information desk staffed by a park ranger.

The Wick House is the farmhouse Henry Wick built around 1750 in Cape Cod style, and where General St. Clair spent the Hard Winter. It is furnished as a general's headquarters. Tours are offered periodically and its opening days vary, so call the visitor center on the day you are going.

The Grand Parade was an open field 400 yards long and 100 yards wide, with a two-room log cabin as the camp's administrative center and two cannon standing as alarm guns. Guards formed up here daily for inspection and orders. It was also where military executions were carried out - two soldiers were hanged and buried on this ground.

The reconstructed soldier huts show how the army housed itself on these hillsides through the winter.

The Guerin House can be seen from the outside but is not open to the public - it is used as a park staff residence.

Admission & Guidelines

Admission is free.

Park grounds are open daily, sunrise to sunset. Buildings keep shorter hours and are closed on Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1.

Dogs are welcome on the trails on a leash no longer than six feet, but not inside buildings.

There is no hunting anywhere in the park. Worth knowing because a trail connects to Lewis Morris County Park, which does allow it - there is a sign at that junction, so you would know if you crossed over.

Hours / Season of Operation

Park grounds: open daily, sunrise to sunset, year round.

Jockey Hollow Visitor Center: Thursday through Monday, 9:30am to 4:30pm. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Wick House: Thursday through Monday, but the hours vary - the Park Service asks you to contact the visitor center on the day of your visit rather than relying on a posted time.

All buildings are closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1. The grounds stay open.

Parking

Read this before you set off. The road through the park is one-way, and satnav will very likely route you past the main entrance where the visitor center is. Aim deliberately for the Tempe Wick Road entrance rather than following the arrow.

There are several lots. The visitor center has its own; there are two central trail parking areas mid-park; and the New York Brigade trailhead lot on Jockey Hollow Road is where the Grand Loop guides start from.

Pick the lot by which loop you want rather than heading for one main entrance.