5

nehaunseytopper

Nehaunsey Park – Gibbstown, Gloucester County, NJ
Distance – A little over a mile one way (2.25 out-and-back)
Type – Out-and-back
Difficulty:  3 of 10 – few blow downs, trail a little tricky to follow in places
Total score:  6 of 10

Website – None.  (Whoa)
Open – Sunrise to Sunset.

Terrain – mostly forest and swampland.

Trailheads –  39°49’19.27″N,  75°16’45.32″W (two parts of the trail start here, one down the gated off road, one that starts next to the chain link fence.  Either one meets up later on the main walking trail).

nehaunseytrailhead

39°49’9.87″N,  75°16’8.51″W (behind school)

39°49’16.09″N,  75°16’29.78″W (power cut on Cucinotta Drive)

Directions – South Home Ave, Gibbstown, NJ

Parking – A few roadside parking spots

nehaunseyparking

Dog friendly? – Yes
Stroller friendly? – Not at the moment, several blow downs on the trail that would be tough to get a stroller over.
Benches? – Several, but all in the eastern section of the park
Bathrooms/Changing Tables – No facilities!
nehaunseybenches

Markings –  No trail markings, trail gets a little tough to follow in a few places.

Map –
nehaunseymap

Description –

On a beautiful Saturday, Tree Rider, The Pres, and I gave The Wife a break by heading out exploring.  We ended up at Nehaunsey Park in Gibbstown, Gloucester County, NJ, where we did the Nehaunsey Walking Trail.  This trail wasn’t blazed, and had a few rough patches, but overall wasn’t bad to follow.

We started by crossing the gate and walking down the closed off section of road toward Nehaunsey Creek.

nehaunseytrailhead

Away we go.

nehaunsey01

nehaunsey02

The hike starts next to this lovely farm field.

nehaunsey03

Haven’t gone all that far yet.

nehaunsey04

Beautiful tree in bloom.

Where the road intersects with the trail proper, a little peek down toward the creek (with some help from some Spring colors) led to a gorgeous view.

nehaunsey06

For serious.

Here, we hung a left and walked down the trail.  The trail starts off mostly as grass, but soon converts to what seem to be crushed shells.

The trail then hits  a bit of swampland, but a small bridge takes you across the water.  From the bridge, another really nice view down toward the creek.

nehaunsey12
nehaunsey13

nehaunsey14

When is it my turn to be carried?

nehaunsey16

Again, a lovely view.

Once across the bridge, you’ll quickly intersect with an unmarked trail on the right, which leads to the creek.  We opted to take it.

nehaunsey17
nehaunsey18

This trail loops ahead to reconnect with the original trail.  At this point, the trail crosses some blow downs and emerges at a power line cut.

nehaunsey19

nehaunsey20

Power lines.



Here, we ran into a kid who was exploring the woods.  He told us he had seen a clubhouse in the woods a bit down the power line cut.  Of course, we had to check it out.  Pretty impressive.

nehaunsey21

We then backtracked to the power line cut, and backtracked to the trail.  The trail reentered the woods here.  In a short while, we began to see nature signs (a turtle was on the first one), which signified the more developed portion of the trail.  The trail crossed a few bridges before ending up at a viewing platform.

nehaunsey22
nehaunsey23
nehaunsey24
nehaunsey25
nehaunsey27

The platform was in honor of Dr. Silvia Alice Earle, a local girl who became a scientist and worked in deep underwater exploration.  Pretty awesome.

nehaunsey26

The trail then went around a blown down tree before veering off to the right to avoid a massive series of downed trees.  We didn’t notice the turn in the trail at first and tried to get through the blow downs, but they were pretty terrible.

nehaunsey28
nehaunsey29
nehaunsey30

After turning, the trail passed a few benches, a few more signs, crossed another bridge or two, and ended at the back playing fields of the elementary school.. the end of the trail.

nehaunsey31
nehaunsey32
nehaunsey33

At this point, we’d done a little over a mile. I let Tree Rider out of the the pack, and we started back down the trail the way that we’d come.  We followed the trail nearly back to the very first intersection.

nehaunsey34
nehaunsey35
nehaunsey36
nehaunsey37
nehaunsey38

Just a few hundred feet before we would have made it back to the first intersection, we crossed a ditch on a small bridge and took a path through the woods, emerging next to the fence that we’d parked our car next to.

Nothing left to do but hop in the car and head home after our lovely hour in the woods!

The Good

Beautiful marshland.

The Could Be Better

Blow downs and trail needs to be blazed.

Ratings
Mike's Review
Your Reviews
Rate Here
Rating
6.0
6.6
Bottom Line

This trail was not at all what I expected. While close to neighborhoods, it felt more wild than I had imagined. There were some beautiful views of the swamps and creek, much more scenic than I ever would have guessed. The only draw backs were that a) they should really blaze the trail and b) something needs to be done about the blow downs. Still, well worth hiking if you’re in the area!

6.0
Mike's Review
6.6
Your Reviews
1 rating
You have rated this
About The Author
southjerseytrails
Just a man, his five small children, and the need to hike every single trail in South Jersey, maybe.
  • Mariel
    May 26, 2019 at 4:14 pm
    The Good

    Surprisingly wild, beautiful, and nearly always deserted, which I consider a plus when I just want to wander by myself. My dogs love this place.

    The Could Be Better

    It is very swampy, so way too many mosquitos in the hot months. I only go on cooler, dry days, especially early spring or late fall. The "bridges" are also not in good shape so you will get quite muddy if you go after rain.

    Rating
    Rating5

    I lived a 5-10 minute drive from this trail my whole life and had no idea it existed until I read this. Now it’s a favorite in the right weather.

    • Patricia Collins
      June 21, 2020 at 9:04 pm
      The Good

      A walking staff helps. Watch for snacks. Some fishing seems to be permitted. Used to have a small beach for swimming (1983-4?)

      The Could Be Better

      A small bridge by the highway edge.

      Nice place to walk to watch the change of seasons. Used to be good for picnics

  • Robin L.
    September 8, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    I think Pateicia Cpllins is thinking of Greenwich Lake which has fishing, walking, boat ramp, picnic area, and years ago had public swimming. NehaunseybParkbis in same town but is just a walking trail. A nice stroll but yes, lots of mosquitos. It is NJ after all, one big swamp.

  • Wes
    August 13, 2023 at 12:38 am
    The Good

    Wildlife. Parked at the school and saw 3 wild turkeys before I even got out of the car. A fox was posing for us just inside the back lot of the school. Loads of frogs in the marsh area. The big is a beautiful red color.

    The Could Be Better

    Spider webs strung across the trails and hungry mosquitoes.

    Great trail. Loved the wood planks to walk on and the very unique red bog. My dog loved the fox and turkeys.

  • Wes
    August 13, 2023 at 12:38 am
    The Good

    Wildlife. Parked at the school and saw 3 wild turkeys before I even got out of the car. A fox was posing for us just inside the back lot of the school. Loads of frogs in the marsh area. The big is a beautiful red color.

    The Could Be Better

    Spider webs strung across the trails and hungry mosquitoes.

    Great trail. Loved the wood planks to walk on and the very unique red bog.

Leave a Response

Rating