Hikes & trails 45
Long-distance footpaths, rail trails and towpaths that welcome a dog on a leash.
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Bass River State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails, picnic areas and pet-friendly campsites; not on the Lake Absegami beach or in the water, cabins, shelters or lean-tos.
New Jersey's first state forest, from 1905, with a swimming lake, campsites and a boardwalk trail through a white-cedar swamp.
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High Point State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not at the Lake Marcia swimming beach or in buildings, including cabins.
The top of New Jersey at 1,803 feet, crowned by a war memorial obelisk, with views over three states, a swimming lake and miles of ridge trails.
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Wharton State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails, forest roads and grounds and at pet-friendly campsites; not in Batsto Village's buildings or on swimming beaches.
The largest single tract in New Jersey's state park system: Pine Barrens rivers for canoeing, sand roads for biking, and the restored 19th-century village at Batsto.
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Allamuchy Mountain State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
Rolling Highlands woods with a big network of hiking and mountain-bike trails, the Musconetcong River, and the old canal settlement of Waterloo Village.
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Liberty State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
A harborfront park facing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, with a waterfront promenade, the historic Central Railroad terminal, and ferries to both islands.
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Washington Crossing State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in the visitor center museum, the historic houses, the nature center or overnight facilities.
Where Washington's army landed after crossing the icy Delaware on Christmas night 1776, with the 18th-century Johnson Ferry House and miles of wooded river trails.
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Wawayanda State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings or on the swimming beach.
Highlands lakes and forest on the New York line, with a swimming beach on Wawayanda Lake, the Appalachian Trail and the ruins of a 19th-century iron furnace.
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Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails, grounds and the pet-friendly campsites; not in buildings or swimming areas.
Pine Barrens forest with Pakim Pond, the Mount Misery trails, and Whitesbog Village, where the cultivated blueberry was first developed.
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Ringwood State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in Ringwood Manor, Skylands Manor or other buildings, or at the Shepherd Lake swimming beach.
Manor houses, gardens and mountain trails in the Ramapos: Ringwood Manor, the state botanical garden at Skylands, and swimming at Shepherd Lake.
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Belleplain State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds and in the pet-friendly campgrounds; not on the Lake Nummy beach or in buildings.
Pine and oak forest between the shore and Delaware Bay, with a swimming lake, camping and quiet trails much loved by birders in spring.
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Parvin State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the lake trails, grounds and pet-friendly campsites; not on the beach (all year), in cabins or buildings.
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Allaire State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
Woods along the Manasquan River with Allaire Village, a restored 19th-century iron-making town, and the Pine Creek Railroad's vintage trains.
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Cheesequake State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings or on the swimming beach.
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Stokes State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds and in the Shotwell pet-friendly camping area; not on the Stony Lake beach or in buildings.
A big, quiet forest on the Kittatinny Ridge, with the Appalachian Trail, the lookout on Sunrise Mountain and the hemlock-shaded cascades of Tillman Ravine.
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Voorhees State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in the campground or in buildings.
A wooded hilltop park above the Raritan valley with a public observatory run by amateur astronomers, campsites and a scenic overlook.
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Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the canal towpath, trails and grounds; not in buildings.
A 19th-century canal turned into a long, narrow park, with a flat, shaded towpath for walking, running and cycling past locks, bridges and old canal towns.
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Island Beach State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the ocean and bay beaches outside the guarded swimming areas and on most trails; not in buildings.
About ten miles of barrier island left almost untouched, with dunes, ocean beaches, bayside marshes, ospreys and some of the best surf fishing on the coast.
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Swartswood State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings or on the swimming beach.
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Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the battlefield grounds and trails; not in the visitor center or the Craig House.
The farm fields and orchards of one of the largest battles of the Revolution, fought in June 1778, with a visitor center and miles of trails.
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Round Valley Recreation Area
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails, sidewalks and picnic areas and at the wilderness campsites; not on the beach sand or in buildings.
A huge, deep, clear reservoir in the Hunterdon hills, with a swimming beach, boating, trout fishing and wilderness campsites reached on foot or by boat.
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Worthington State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
Rugged forest on the Kittatinny Ridge above the Delaware Water Gap, with the climb up Mount Tammany and the Appalachian Trail to glacial Sunfish Pond.
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Cape May Point State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the park grounds; not on the nature trails or behind the dunes, in buildings, or on the beach in nesting season.
The southern tip of New Jersey: the Cape May Lighthouse, beach and dune trails, and a famous hawk-watch platform busy with migrating birds every fall.
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Rancocas State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Double Trouble State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
A restored cranberry-farming village and sawmill on Cedar Creek, with trails among the bogs and a favorite canoe run through the Pines.
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Jenny Jump State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Hacklebarney State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and in the picnic areas; not in buildings.
A small, rocky park where the Black River tumbles through a hemlock-shaded gorge, with easy riverside trails and picnic spots.
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Kittatinny Valley State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Spruce Run Recreation Area
Dogs: Leashed dogs allowed in the park; not in the campground, on the sandy swimming beach or in buildings.
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Stephens State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Buttermilk Falls
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trail to the falls and the ridge trail above it.
New Jersey's tallest waterfall, according to the National Park Service: a long, foaming cascade down the Kittatinny Ridge beside a gravel road in the Delaware Water Gap, with a steep trail climbing alongside.
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Long Pond Ironworks State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Morristown National Historical Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds of every unit of the park; not in buildings.
The country's first national historical park: Washington's headquarters in the Ford Mansion and the woods of Jockey Hollow, where his army lived through the hard winter of 1779–80.
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Norvin Green State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Ramapo Mountain State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Sussex Branch Trail
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the rail trail.
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Apshawa Falls
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the preserve trails, including the path to the falls.
A waterfall on the trails of Apshawa Preserve, a Passaic County nature preserve of woods, rocky ledges and a reservoir in West Milford.
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Hemlock Falls
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the South Mountain Reservation trails, including the path to the falls; off leash only inside the reservation's fenced dog park.
A waterfall of about 25 feet in a wooded ravine of South Mountain Reservation, the big Essex County park, reached on easy trails from the Tulip Springs area.
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Paulinskill Valley Trail
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the rail trail.
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Silver Spray Falls
Dogs: Leashed dogs allowed; the last stretch to the falls is an unmarked path.
A slender waterfall hidden in a hemlock ravine off Mountain Road in the Delaware Water Gap, a short scramble from the road and close to Buttermilk Falls.
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Stony Brook Falls
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trail to the falls and in the surrounding forest; not in buildings.
Small, stepped cascades on Stony Brook in Stokes State Forest, an easy walk along the Stony Brook Trail from the Stony Lake area.
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Tall Pines State Preserve
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Abram S. Hewitt State Forest
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
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Appalachian Trail
Dogs: Leashed dogs allowed on the trail through Vernon.
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Warren Trail
Dogs: Leashed dogs allowed on the trail.
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Farny State Park
Dogs: Leashed dogs on the trails and grounds; not in buildings.
