Let’s go!
Crow’s Woods Nature Preserve – Haddonfield, Camden County, NJ
Distance: 1.5 miles of trails. We did 1.2 of a mile largely following the White Trail.
Type: Loop trail.
Difficulty: 2 of 10.
Updated: March 5, 2017
Terrain – hill, swamps, woods, creek.
Trailheads – 39°52’53.27″N, 75° 1’30.00″W
Trailhead.
Directions: It’s at the very end of South Atlantic Avenue in Haddonfield, NJ. From Warwick Road, turn onto Upland Road (there is only one way to turn). After you go under the railroad bridge, make the immediate right turn onto S. Atlantic Avenue. Follow this road past the ball fields until it dead ends into the preserve’s parking lot. The ball fields are also labeled Crow’s Woods, but that’s not what your looking for here.
Parking: Small lot.
Parking lot.
Dog friendly? Very. Be warned, many people walk their dogs offleash here.
Stroller friendly? Yes, but with big wheels and the willingness to do some major dragging up and down steps
Benches? A few near the entrence.
Facilities?: None
Markings – Blazes on the trees. Get a little muddled after the bridges, as someone else has painted their own colored trails/arrows/graffiti.
Trail marker.
Trail Map:
Map. Well done Eagle Scout, well done.
Description: April Fool’s Day was a great day. I got out work early, it was not raining, it was sunny, and it was warm! With this perfect storm of awesomeness, The Pres, Tree Rider, and I headed to Crow’s Woods Nature Preserve for a hike. Right off the bat, the think to look out for here is…
Beavers!
Beavers moved in a few years ago, so we kept our eyes peeled for evidence of them.
At the split in the trail (almost immediate), we decided to head left and down the hill. Down, down, down the steps we went.
Go left young man.
Nice and level.
Then down the steps we go.
At the bottom of the hill, the trail curves around until it reaches the Indian Spring. A sign explains what’s going on, and a really short side trail gives you a closer look.
Someone is moving in.
Nice, easy trail to follow.
I missed the warm woods.
Tree Rider is studying the woods.
The Pres reads the info sign (or just looks for capital As).
Indian Spring.
As you continue along, the red trail, green trail, and blue trail will curve right to meet the other side of the white loop. It’s worth it to stick to White Trail. It will head down a hill, up a hill, then down a hill to the wooden bridge.
Up, up, up the steps.
Side trails are marked.
Down, down, down to the bridge.
Made it to the bridge.
Nice creek.
After the bridge, it gets a little confusing. Ignore the super-steep “trails” up the cliff. Make a hard left and follow along the water. It will climb part way, then cut back to climb the rest of the way up the hill. Follow the blazes along the top of the cliff. You’ll pass a rope swing, keep an eye out for it. At some point, the trail makes a sharp left and heads toward the Cooper River, but we missed it the first time around. Head down to the river and check it out.
Bridges are fun.
Hang a left and follow the trail.
Up along the top of the ridge.
Rope swing!
Trails get a little confusing up here.
High above the river. Head down.
We made it.
River time. Look for beaver signs.
It’s a nice river.
The family the hikes together, makes weird faces together.
Oh, and one time, we totally saw a beaver.
You’re now at the furthest point of the trail. Along the river, it will bend back on itself. It will climb back up the ridge, then head down another set of steps to another bridge. From there, it’s more or less a straight shot paralleling the train tracks (The Pres reminds you to wave at the trains, then say “Bye bye choo-choo!” after they pass) back to the parking lot.
Down the steps.
Bridge #2.
Creek looks nice here too.
Up one final hill.
Someone sees a sign (he can look for the letter “A” on it).
Good hike!
Our one and only video is of Crows Woods, featuring BEAVER FOOTAGE. It was pretty awesome.
Overall recommendation: So we ended up moving (again) a few years back, and this is now the closest trail to our house, so we have been here dozens of times. We love coming here, the bridges and the steps keep things interesting, we’ve seen lots of birds, and now we always look for a beaver.
Nearby: Haddonfield is great, check out the Haddrosaurus site, the Indian King Tavern, and the other nearby trails like the Tree Trail at Hopkins Pond
Some nice up-and-downs. Nice view of the Cooper River. Some nice bridges. BEAVERS active in the park!
Careful of off-leash dogs here.
Great pictures!
Thanks!
Lord Nelson (our dog), my wife and I walked the trail today based on seeing your email and glad we did. It was easy to find and thanks for the directions. Very pleasant walk and we did the white trail twice.
Glad you enjoyed it!
THANK you for this site! This is excellent for finding a quick mini hike close by. I’ve been looking for something like this for years!
We walked Crow’s woods this morning. Got a little turned around when we got to the furthest point. I didn’t realized that is where we were and we kept walking forward. They should have a sign telling you to turn right to stay on the path, because there are a lot of beaten paths continuing forward off the white trail and to nowhere land.
Thank you. If it was not for this site, we would have been lost and the heat index was around 100 today!
Glad we helped!
Reblogged this on South Jersey Trails and commented:
One of our favorite hikes, updated after coming here more than a dozen times (it’s easy to visit when you live five minutes away). Included pictures of the beaver we found swimming here and a link to our (only) youtube video, which happens to be a hike here complete with beaver footage.