Our meandering 3.25 mile hike in the area. The red marks where we parked.
Blueberry Hill – The Red Trail – Gibbsboro Greenway System – Gibbsboro, NJ
Distance: 0.7 miles for the official length of the red trail (one way), but more trails, both official and unofficial, are connected in this patch of woods. We did over 3 miles without crossing any of the local roads (except to take a picture on the other side).
Difficulty: 3 of 10.
Terrain – Hills, wetlands, woodlands.
Map – Nope, muhahahahahaha!
Trailheads – Gibbsboro wants everyone to park at Pole Hill Park now (former Air Force instillation off of Rt 561 behind the old ice rink) – 39° 49.440’N, 74° 57.190’W.
Trailhead at Eastwick & Berlin Road (the cul-de-sac) – no parking here anymore.
Trail head at Pole Park.
Markings – mile markers every 0.1 miles, signs pointing up Blueberry Hill, and many, many unmarked trails.
Description: This is a great little hike. I’ve always parked at the cul-de-sac off of Rt 561. From there, walk into the woods on the duel use bike/hiking trail, part of the Gibbsboro Greenways system, a growing network of biking/hiking/walking trail in Gibbsboro. This trail is paved in parts, gravel in parts, and dirt-ish in parts. You’ll walk along the trail, admiring the views of the wetlands and at the base of the hill. Follow this bike trail as it curves around the base of Blueberry Hill.
Down the trail.
Crossing a stream.
At your first intersection, stay straight.
First intersection.
At your second intersection (4 ways), you’ll make a left where the sign point to Blueberry Hill. this is roughly 0.3 miles from the trailhead.
2nd intersection. Make a left. I know it looks like a right, I was coming the opposite direction.
The trail (which is paved here) immediately forks, go right and up the steps.
The steps.
After 0.2 miles (probably less, it seems shorter), you’ll hit the top of the steps. Look right for a great view of Philadelphia, 13 miles away.
Get out of the view!
Nice view from the top.
From here, feel free to head back the way that you came, or wander the top of or at the base of Blueberry Hill on the paved or unpaved paths. There are no maps, but the paved trails will lead you eventually to a) the base of the hill or b) Pole Hill Park with a great view of the radar defense system that was once part of the air defenses for Philadelphia. We did three miles without hitting all the paved trails, so you can wander for a while.
Ruins of some sort.
Wild turkey.
Radar station.
Looking down the edge of the hill from a dirt trail.
Trail.
View on one of the trails.
The radar station was built in 1957 as part of the Nike Missile Defense system, although no missiles were ever kept here. It’s well worth taking a look at while you’re there. In the meantime, here’s a aerial shot from the distant past of what it looked like.
Blueberry Hill with a view of Philadelphia, Gibbsboro radar station, trees, small concrete ruins.
Dodging bikes can sometimes be tricky.
We just got in from walking the Blueberry Trail when I saw this. We walked 2.50 without going up Blueberry Hill. We usually take the dog with us We like it because it’s close by.
Sounds like a good day. Have you done any of the other walks through Gibbsboro? I did out to Lindenwold on the one, but it wasn’t very interesting to walk (seems geared toward bikers).
So strange to see the place I grew up . I am thrilled to see it is still the same minus our house.
now ive got to go check this out!
I’ve biked the paved trails a couple years back and enjoyed this place. Now-a-days I’m more into the hiking thing and today I took a short but fun hike around Blueberry Hill for just a little over two miles on the quad trails that border the sand pit and the ridge above the paved trails below. Wonderful place so close to home for a great afternoon in the woods. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get outside.
Love your blog! Blueberry Hill
9/24/15, Me and the mutts
I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill, but first I had to find it! Truly the most difficult thing to do, but literally right under my nose! Great for walking with friends, four-legged and other as the paths are of a good width. An additional bonus are the smaller, but well defined paths. Finally getting use to sound of things in woods when hiking alone – and especially at this time of year with the barrage of acorns. “Summit,” beautiful with a view of the city, and easy to find. I think a full bike ride through the area would be beneficial to get the lay of the land and all the adjoining trails. We hiked around 4:30 and it was relatively quiet until about 6 PM. Lots of little treasures: small things that jumped into the water, deer, view of Philly, troll hut, and the smell of sassafras which reminded me of my childhood.
Sounds like a great afternoon!
where do you park????
You can park at the cul-de-sac on Berlin Road just off of Rt 561/Haddonfield-Berlin rd/Lakeview Dr or you can park at Pole Hill Park behind the old High Ridge Ice Rink (it’s The Center for Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Health now). You can use the trailhead coordinates and plug them into google earth or google maps to help. Hope this helps!
thanks, I pulled in off 561, turned left. the first thing was the woods and trails on the left, there was a business on the right with 2 buildings. I went to the end of the road, but looked residential? park at the business parking lot or the cold a sac at the end? thx
Which way were you headed, toward Voorhees or toward Berlin? You’ll turn at the light at Eastwick Drive, then turn immediately left on Berlin Road (you can’t go straight). There’s a cul-de-sac there with no houses or bussinesses on it. There are usually a few cars parked there. Take the trail away from Rt 561.
The cul-de-sac is not actually parking. If you park on the road you will be ticketed. There is lots of parking at the radar base. There are over 100 parking spaces at the senior center.
I lived in this area for 31 years and just recently heard about BB hill. Yesterday, I enjoyed it along with the fall beauty. Also, by seeing all the dead (but left in their natural state) trees, I realized that death is beauty too; it’s just a later phase of the cycle of being.
Blueberry Hill – All the more reason to thank God for what he has given us.
Sounds like a good day, glad you enjoyed your hike!
I grew up on Berlin Road in Gibbsboro and spent my childhood playing in the woods where the trails now exist. My best friend lived in the large house right next to the start of the trail and we built more then one fort on and around Pole Hill. It’s great to see the town has made the effort to preserve the area and make it accessible to everyone. Kudos to Mayor Ed Campbell and town council!
I live on the same street as the cul-de-sac entrance takes 90 seconds to walk there. Love taking the kids there.
At the 4-way cross, if you go right or straight, those trails actually cross United States Ave and connect to another paved/gravel path that follows old railway tacks. If you go right on the United States Ave trail, it takes you within a half mile-ish of the lake with a trail around it. If you go left, it takes you to Lindenwold park. Definitely one of my favorite spots too! I’m hoping to explore some more dirt trails this weekend!
If, when you are walking on the paved walkway that parallels U.S. Avenue, you are tempted to cross back over and take the trail through the woods that leads to the pit (right where the cliff is) that’s between you and Pole Hill Park, you can keep going along the perimeter of the pit if you want to, but BE CAREFUL, as I kind of got lost a couple of days ago and needed divine help to become reoriented and get back. (If you see that big white ball, you went a little too far) I say this because there must be other adventurous hikers like me that just can’t resist making it a vigorous hike. Oh it was, after taking the paved path from the Blueberry Hill area to the north end of U.S. Avenue, then south to the crossover point, but I was glad to get back to the cul de sac! Happy Trails.
Back in the late 1960s, When i was a young Air Force captain, and a member of the 26 Air Division IG (inspection team) i regularly inspected this facility. Its radar coverage fed into the Air Defence Command and NORAD net (north american air defense command).
We used to joke (as cynical military types are known for) that this facility’s mission was “to protect the US from the canadian threat”.
No surface-to-air missles were ever placed here. Just the ever-turning radars in the two “golf balls”. Guess we succeeded: Canada never attacked us. Go Air Force!
I found this and thought it would be helpful to the blog readers: https://www.gibbsborotownhall.com/files/bikewaybrochure042010.pdf