Pompeston Park– Moorestown, Burlington County, NJ
Distance – We did just under 2 miles, missing part of the trail on the other side of the creek (this includes the out-and-back.
Type -Out and back, with a parallel bit of trail.
Difficulty: 3 of 10 (rock hop stream crossing in one spot)
Total score: 5 of 10
Website – S.T.E.M – Save the Environment in Moorestown
Open – Sunrise to Sunset.
Terrain – creekside woodlands
Trailheads –
39°58’8.87″N, 74°57’29.56″W (Holmes Terrace behind Baker School)
39°58’18.25″N, 74°57’36.23″W (Middleton Road Trailhead)
39°58’20.49″N, 74°57’42.93″W (Pepperbush Road – we used this one)
39°58’24.30″N, 74°57’56.64″W (New Albany Road, no parking!)
There are other trailheads on the Southern side of the park, but we didn’t go rock hopping across the creek in December, no matter how nice its been!
Directions – Pepperbush Road in Moorestown, NJ
Parking – Streetside parking at Pepperbush Road.
Markings – Painted blazes on some parts of the trail
Map – Does not include after the rock hop to the other side, as we didn’t make it across.
Description – With the warm weather we’ve been having this December, The Pres, Tree Rider, and I set out the Sunday before Christmas to hike another of the STEM trails in Moorestown, NJ. This time, we hit up the Pompeston Creek Trail. We started in the middle, at Pepperbush Lane, heading down the trail to the back of Baker School . This stretch of trail was very close to the houses, but quite easy to follow. We crossed a bridge and found a little surprise at the end, as one of the families has a pair of goats! The Pres was very amused.
We then headed back the way we came. After the bridge, we took a side trail over to the main trail, which follows the bank of Pompeston Creek through Moorestown.
After hitting the creek, we simply followed it a ways down until it crossed New Albany Road. It wasn’t a good time of year to be searching, but I have to imagine that there are all sorts of frogs and turtles to see during the warmer months.
When you hit New Albany Road, be super careful of traffic, then cross and continue on the other side of the road.
After a little while, you’ll cross another creek on a bridge. The trail then heads more or less straight through the woods.
Eventually, you’ll hit a four way intersection. Turn right, and the trail will take you to a residential street. Go straight, and the trail appears to continue straight, although I think it officially does not go that way. Turn left, you can rock hop across the stream and keep hiking on the trail.
At this point, it was getting dark (almost the shortest day of the year!), so we had to turn back instead of seeing where the trail ended. Good adventure!
Nearby – Two other nice little parks in town are Boundary Creek and Little Woods on the Rancocas
Nice creek.
Not quite secluded.
I really like your approach of description and illustration. Your walk-through of the trail including photos provides the reader with such an accurate explanation of the path. The Pres. is quite a photographer.
The Pres was very excited to use the camera on my phone. He’s been practicing by walking around with a calculator pretending to take pictures. 🙂