Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park

This is a good park for winter months. In summer the bugs can be overpowering unless you have bug spray and/or bug nets with you. Also watch for ticks which can cause Lyme disease which can cause a variety of symptoms, including a characteristic rash, fever, headache, fatigue, and if left untreated, can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Really well maintained with an extensive trail system. Maybe 50 miles of tow path + connectors into other parks. Various parking lots mainly at road crossings but we saw others. Colonial Park Gardens looked really good. There are numerous foot bridges as well. Overall the trail was in excellent shape. Lots of benches as well. We biked it, which is the way to go. It was dusty (almost no rain last couple of weeks). Hardly any services on the trail, we only saw 1 restroom, but there's probably more. No drinking water available. We stopped at Griggstown kayak rentals and they have drinks for sale. Highly recommend, just watch out some of the road crossings don't have crosswalks and it got a little hairy down towards Trenton. We went mid week and it was not crowded but weekends could be a nightmare.

The headquarters of the D & R State Park is located at the Mapleton Preserve Entrance at 145 Mapleton Rd in Kingston, NJ near the border or South Brunswick, Plainsboro and Princeton and Lake Carnegie . Visitors to the preserve can use the area and trails to walk, go hiking 🥾 and to connect with nature. 🌺 🌳 🦅 There are several different paths for walking , etc present. The site was formerly part of the largest commercial nursery in the USA, ‘Princeton Nurseries‘ Which closed in 1995. A large part of the Princeton Nurseries 🪴 land was preserved. The 53 acre main area became the Mapleton Preserve. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and South Brunswick Township established the ‘Mapleton Preserve Commission’, to ensure that the land could be managed for recreation and conservation purposes, for passive recreation, historic preservation, and nature preserve purposes, as well as historic agricultural and horticultural activities.

A very nice place for jogging, kayaking, walking and by the number of people doing it, fishing. It is crowded though in places (near Princeton) and there is loads. Poison ivy that you should be aware of. Lots of turtles and birds about for viewing in the morning and evenings. All in all great local place for a quick dip into nature.