Hiking NJ: Hartshorne Woods County Park in Middletown

In this latest edition of Hiking New Jersey, we are off to Monmouth County and Hartshorne Woods County Park in Middletown, New Jersey. Hartshorne Woods is part of the Monmouth County Parks System.

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According to the park system, the woods were named after an English Quaker, Richard Hartshorne, who settled in the area in 1669 and bought about 2,400 acres of land.

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Hartshorne Woods Park has over 15 miles of hiking trails, with some of the most challenging trails in the Monmouth County Parks System. The park is spread out with several different entrance points, including Claypit Creek, Buttermilk Valley, and Rocky Point. April and I began at the Claypit Creek entrance.

This park has easy, moderate, and challenging trails....so something for everyone. There are some hills on this hike, nothing too harsh, but still inclines. We encountered folks hiking, jogging, and biking through the trails. We did a portion of the Claypit Creek trail and the Laurel Ridge Trail. Both trails were "moderate". Claypit Creek is about half a mile or so and Laurel Ridge is two and a half miles, so we ended with about 4 miles in all..not a bad weekend hike.

We enjoyed our hike at Hartshorne Woods. The trails are well marked and are cleared nicely. I will say there are a lot of tree roots and loose rocks, so watch your step..go in nice hiking shoes. Dogs are welcome, remember your leash...but we saw many happy dogs along the trails.