Princeton Battlefield State Park

Great place to visit, hike and see nature and also experience the reenactment of the battle of Princeton. A place of history!

Today I explored Battlefield State Park, the historic site where American and British forces clashed during the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. I absolutely loved the experience. The park offers multiple trails, including a few with walkways that are kid-friendly and perfect for a leisurely stroll. I especially enjoyed the smaller sub-routes—they lead into deep woods filled with lush greenery, and the narrow paths added a charming sense of adventure.

It was nice to learn a little history about what transpired in this area around the time of the American Revolution. Besides learning that the Battle of Princeton climaxed on January 3, 1777, after General Washington struggling for American Independence from Great Britain and having lost a series of battles in New York, retreated across New Jersey crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania on December 25, 1776 and to quote Thomas Paine, " These are the time times that try men's souls". After desertions, sickness, and casualties, and the British confident in the occupation of New Jersey, Washington reversed course and led a daring attack in Trenton, forcing the British to abandon New Jersey after the Battle of Princeton. We also got a chance to see the Clarke House that contained various artifacts as well as the history.

Went to this state park for a hike. The parking lot leads to the trailhead just beyond the Clarke house. The trail has a hanging bridge for visitors to enjoy, although it's a bridge to nowhere, and you pretty much need to come right back to stay on the main trail. The issue I found about the trail in this park was that it's barely marked and I ended up using my GPS to find a way to the hanging bridge, which shouldn't be the case for a nicely marked trail. Hopefully, some BSA scouts read this and take a project here to mark the trails with proper signs on trees. Besides that, it's a clean and nice place to hike. We hiked about 3 miles round trip back to the parking lot. The trail is pretty wide and doesn't have much ups & downs.

The Park has a small parking lot near the Clarke House (the Clarke House is the only full structure still standing that existed during the battle...it was used as a field hospital following the battle). The house was closed when we were thee but the grounds and hiking trails are open dawn to dusk. At the parking lot is a map of the trails and along the parameter of the main path around the open field are signs with historical information about George Washington and the battle. We hiked past the field to go down to the swinging bridge while we were there (about a mile hike each direction). The bridge was the only crosspoint over the water we came across, so it's over and back, but there are trails on the other side of bridge. Mostly flat, easy trails though not well marked for name of each path while walking (though gps has them all named so if unsure where you are, bring hour phone). Trails are all simple to navigate and well maintained and not very curvy, essentially straight paths in the woods that intersect with a few others. You can see part of the university in the distance when walking along Trolley Trail (with a small pond and sculpture next to you).