high adventure without high risk
Outdoor Appeal: 10
Setting: Commanding view of Lambertville and New Hope looking northward on the Delaware River. The trail leading to the overlook is actually an old road. Although the total hike to the overlook from the parking area is no more than half a mile, it is possible to ride a bike to the vista.
Explorable Op's: A lot. Our hike took us only on the road leading to the overlook. But there are other trails leading into the woods off the main road. For the more adventurous, there is a pond off the left side of the trail at about a quarter mile. We did not venture to check it out because the area around it looked awfully muddy. But there were loads of spring peepers chatting us up as we walked by.
Difficulty: Easy. There is a slight incline on the trek to the overlook. But overall this is very easy to do even with small children. The trail is an old road so the footing is quite safe.
Facilities: Nada. There are no bathrooms or running water. But the parking area is only about a five minute drive from Lambertville. You should go prepared for accidents to happen. But in case of a real emergency, civilization is within close reach.
Review: You'd be hard pressed to find a more rewarding hike for kids than the trail to Goat Hill Overlook. The distance is perfect to make it seem to kids that you've hiked all day, although you've only hiked half a mile. Older kids can roam the woods before setting out to the overlook to make it a bit more challenging. The trail is wide open and has only one turn before it doubles back. So the trail is essentially two long straightaways which are perfect for letting kids run (or bike) as far as they like with out the fear of them getting out of sight. The view is truly as good as any in this part of the world, including Bowman's Tower. But unlike Bowman's Tower, Goat Hill is free. The overlook itself is spacious - about the size of a football field. Even if you don't like to go hiking, this is a must.
It hasn't been hard to find I good day to get outdoors this spring, but we were lucky enough to make this hike on a real beauty. Obviously a day with low humidity and clear skies is going to give you the best view. We also happened to be out when all the flowers were in full bloom, so we got a real treat.
There is a cherry tree on the left side of the overlook that was blooming on our trip. It was a down right lovely surprise for us to find once we go to the overlook. There is a steep decline behind the Goat Hill Overlook sign, so you need to be aware that it is there. Max and Frank spent a good deal of time throwing sticks down the hill and the retrieving them, so although it is steep, it is manageable. There are picker bushes lining the overlook area, so you also need to be careful of the them as well.
After the boys played for a bit, we sat down to have a picnic. We spent about two hours at the overlook itself. Although the area is really just a large field with a view, Max and Frank didn't seem to grow tired of it in the least. In fact it was hard to get them moving back towards the car once the decision to leave was made. The area is big enough for older kids to throw a ball around or play frisbee. Depending on the direction of the wind, you may be able to get a kite to fly as well.
We set off for the car a little after noon. One of the nicest things about the hike is that it is slightly down hill all the way back to the car. Max road his bike (although his curiosity left me carrying it at times) so going back to the car was a breeze for him. He coasted most of the way.
This is one of our favorite hikes. It's easy all around. It's exciting for the kids and relaxing as a parent.
Recommendations: A picnic is a good idea. It's even a short enough walk that you may want to consider lugging a blanket and chairs. It's easy to spend a lot of time here without even feeling it pass you by. It has been hard to find detailed information about Goat Hill Overlook online. But this PDF gives some information about the site preservation and directions on how to get there. Hope you enjoy. Happy trails.
Setting: Variably smooth to rough trails lead to the cavernous gorge which is filled by braided, cascading falls that spill over an endless glacier of boulders - a truly sublime ambiance.
Explorable Op's: A ton. You could easily spend hours exploring just the area of the falls that the trail crosses.
Facilities: Nada. But there is a park with port-o-potties at the bottom of the hill on Route 519, just a few minutes north of the access road for the gorge.
Review: You'd be hard pressed to find a slice of a wilderness more beautiful than Musconetcong Gorge in this part of the world. The gorge is deep. The handsome trees are thick, tall and tower skyward. The passive contest between the water and stone fills the place with a soothing drama. It's paradise.
But beauty has its price. The gorge is a bit more than 1/2 a mile from the parking area. This place is unforgiving. Falling in the gorge will more than likely result in an injury that will, at the very least, let you know how very quickly fun can turn into trauma. In other words, if you fall you will hit a rock. Had I known this before setting out I may have not chosen to go to the gorge. But luckily, in our case, ignorance was bliss. We started out from the parking area. You're greeted by the sign pictured at the top of the review. I slung Frank on my back and Max and I headed downhill on a trail thick with brush. Poison ivy poked out every so often and I had to steer Max away from it. The first part of the trail was a rather steep descent for a two year old. Max had the inclination to run but quickly found physics working against his agility. I believe we followed the Nature Trail to the gorge, but it's difficult to tell on the map. After the downhill the path smoothed out and flattened. It runs parallel to the Musconetcong River down in the valley. (Note - the gorge is filled by a tributary of the Musconetcong and is not labeled on the map) The trail takes a turn uphill just before you enter the gorge. You can hear the cascading falls as you climb and then, there it is! The trail rounds the edge of the gorge. It's a long way down. As you follow the trail there are a set of whopped-d-do's before you get to the gorge rock bed. Both Max and Frank were awe struck as we descended into the valley.
The trail is well marked and easy to follow through the gorge. The trail also does provide firm footing to safely get across the gorge. But the problem is that you're not going to just stay on the trail. You're going to want to explore and the terrain goes from challenging, to rock hopping, to bouldering in a matter of feet. We set up lunch at the waterfall pictured above. The boys got their feet wet, threw rocks and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Since this area was relatively safe I tried to quickly snap a few photos. Most of my time was spent with one hand on or close to Frank. Max had enough sense to walk in the sandy areas and stay off of the larger rocks. Frank is a different story all together. Lunch didn't hold their interest for long. The trail follows one braid of the stream to a bridge that spans the water. 
This was a fun place because it gave the kids some room to move a bit more freely than the rocky trail provided. Plus, the monsoon rains from the previous Sunday made the water rush furiously underneath the bridge. On the other side of the bridge there is a place to get close to the falls. It gave us another place to throw leaves and sticks in the water and wish them good luck on their voyage down the gorge.
By the time we started heading back to the picnic area we had set up at our chosen waterfall, Max was getting tired and Frank was getting feisty. Frank didn't want to be restrained anymore and was determined to break free. Since Frank really couldn't be left to do what he wanted, I just tried to distract him by giving him a small stone to play with until I could get Max moving. I told Max to crawl instead of walking. I don't know why I never thought of this on our other treks where the terrain was rough. It made moving around easier for him, he wasn't in danger of slipping and falling (at least not more than a few inches) and he thought it was fun. With Max rejuvenated and making his own way again, I then took Frank and put him on top of a big boulder - about 5 feet high - and let him check it out. I still had a hold on him the whole time but he was too impressed by how high up he was to notice me.
One of our last attempts at exploring the area was a quick dip in the waterfall. Max really wanted to touch it. The waterfall where we set up had a very sandy shore and pool bed. The water was only about a foot to 2 deep next to the falls so I decided it was a safe bet. We started to make our way into the water towards the falls together but we only got up to our ankles before Max and Frank both decided that it was too cold and maybe a little scary. So we turned back to the shore, put on our shoes and headed back to the car. Hiking back was tough because I had to carry both Max and Frank for most of the 1/2 mile. It's probably the best workout I've had all year. We got drinks, got ourselves in the car and headed out. I wanted to check out the valley that Route 519 runs through so we followed the access road down instead of heading back up Dennis Road. Fiber Mark, which I believe is a paper mill, is visible from the bridge that crosses the Musconetcong River. Going just a little further north you come to a T where 627 and 519 join. If you turn right there is a park with a pavilion and sports fields on your left. We pulled in there to finish our lunch, go to the bathroom and play chase around the picnic tables before we got back in the car to go home.
Recommendations: Carry a phone with you and keep it on you while you explore - not in your backpack or elsewhere. Be honest with yourself about your ability and your kids' abilities to make good decisions in the gorge. Take a camera. You can get some spectacular shots if you have time. If you are taking a picnic, the park at the intersection of routes 519 and 627 is a nice place to relax. There is a water fountain, a pavilion with picnic tables and port-o-potties. Although we didn't stop, Jimmy's drive-in on 519 looked like a swell place to take the kids for a treat. As always, enjoy and happy trails. 
Explorable Op's: A ton. Although the preserve is a relatively small swash of land, it still has a wilderness feel to it. The creek is perfect for exploring because it isn't exceptionally deep. The trails are just long enough to give kids a real sense of accomplishment. They will feel like they are miles from the car but in reality it's only a few minutes away.
Difficulty: Moderate. We parked on the eastern most parking area on Raven Rock Road and from this starting point most of the trail loops in a meadow and is grassy with slight up or down pitch depending on which way you're headed. Along the Locatong Creek the trail can be quite muddy. Also, the jump down the ravine into the creek bed is a steep 10 drop. So for those reasons this hike is moderate with kids.
Review: Our trip to Wescott Nature Preserve was a short one for a reason I'll get to later on in the review. But the time we spent there up until the end of the adventure was darn nice. We were lucky enough to pull in the parking area about the same time as another car pulled in. A woman with a dog got out and I asked her for some suggestions about trekking through the preserve. She told me about the mud on the trail, the path to get to the creek bed and she let us use a few squirts of insect repellent, which I was thankful for. The meadow looked like the perfect place to pick up a deer tick. It was an impossibly beautiful July day when we went, with blue skies, a breeze and temperatures in the 70's. We made our way down the grassy trail and entered the woods. Before long the muddy section of the trail opened up before us and as the woman told me, I was definitely going to get muddy. Frank was on my back and Max handled walking through the mud pretty well. The path down to the Locatong Creek was only about a 30 second walk from the muddy section. This was a little bit of a challenge with Frank in the backpack and Max slipping down the slope, but all in all it was uneventful and no one got hurt - yet. The creek bed is perfect for kids to explore and it has the feel of a "secret spot" because it is nestled down in a ravine with the wall of the bank and the forest protecting it from the sun. You're maybe about a 1/4 mile from your car at this point but you feel like you're deep in the woods. I had enough foresight to put the boys in bathing suits so getting wet wouldn't be an issue. Frank, the one year old, had a good time walking in and out of the shadow pools, digging his hands into the tiny pebbles and, for one of the first times, throwing rocks into the creek. Max did a lot of the same but he felt he needed show his strength by choosing rocks about half the size of his head to throw in the creek. I have to admit, the splashes were impressive. But I tried to point out some more manageable stones for him to throw in while I was busy making sure Frank didn't take a header into the creek. But Max's luck ran out when he tried to maneuver over some large rocks while holding a long salami shaped stone. He slipped and fell and what was going to be a torpedo when launched into the water wound up smashing his fingers on the boulders he was walking over. It was obvious from the moment it happened that this was not a normal fall. He held his and out as if it was a foreign object that he just couldn't identify. On close inspect it turned out that his pinky finger got the weight of the stone. It was bleeding a little bit and turning purple and swollen. So the 1/4 back to the car, uphill, while carrying two kids - one in a bit of pain - seemed plenty long. We took Max to the doctor then the ER later in the day and he did indeed fracture the end of his finger, although we couldn't see anything on the X-ray. For many reason, Wescott Nature Preserve will always hold a special place in my mind. Besides the misadventure, we highly recommend the trip.
Recommendations: Little hands shouldn't throw big rocks! No, really, it could have happened anywhere and it was bound to happen sooner or later. But as always, I recommend taking your phone with you. Spraying everyone with insect repellent is also a good idea. Dress the kids in something that they can feel comfortable getting wet in and have a change of clothes back at the car. In light of the fractured finger, it's generally a good idea to have some first aid kit with you. But to be honest, if the injury is too big for cotton balls and band-aids then I'm heading to a hospital, quick! And even though Max did break his finger, there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do for it. They put a splint on it at the hospital just to keep him from bumping it. Finally, Dilly's Corner did wonders for everyone. Grandma and Grandpa met us there. We had ice-cream and french fries and the finger was forgotten about until our 3 o'clock appointment. All's well that ends in ice-cream. Happy trails.
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