Nestled in the heart of New Jersey is a beautiful little place. Leonard J Buck Garden. It is a lovely garden, filled with paths, ponds, streams and tiny, adorable bridges. At the end of October we made a plan to visit it together with friends.
Category: Hiking Trails
Dingmans Ferry, PA
Every Year since 2015
Unfortunately our most recent experience in the early fall of 2018 left me stunned and short for words. I can no longer recommend that people take their families there. We were sitting around a campfire at about 1o:30 pm at night. Quietly talking. The kids were in their tent giggling. The campground was pretty empty, so the kids giggling was not bothering anyone. There were two rangers that stopped to tell us to quiet the kids down. Which would have been fine, except for the rangers’ aggressive behavior. They treated us like we were criminals in front of our kids. Ran background checks, asked us if we had weapons, told us to not move, sit down, take our hands out of our pockets. It was quite upsetting to both parents and the kids. The kids were crying and upset, and the parents worked up. No one could sleep afterwards. We had no alcohol, were not provoking anyone, were respectful toward the rangers, and the only thing that was happening were giggling children. I went as far as to write a letter to the campground, but never got a response. Unfortunately, after years of going there and loving every minute, I will be looking for a new campground for our family and friends.
Hi folks! I wrote this post when we went camping for the first time after a long hiatus. We have been back to Dingman’s Campground every year since then. Twice a year, as a matter of fact. I am still as excited to go there as that first time. It is a great place to spend your weekend, and a good camping spot whether it is your first time camping, or even if you are a pro.
This is yet another amazing place that we have visited for the first time a few years ago! There are no words to describe how embarrassed I feel about it. I have gone to Rutgers for five years, and never once has it occurred to me that there are so many wonderful places. Of course, when I was going there I had a newborn, so it was all work, no play, but still. I missed Zimmerli, the Geology Museum, and now this. Rutgers Gardens is one of the most beautiful and amazing places to spend the day! Over the years, we have visited Rutgers Gardens several times, over many seasons, and it is always fantastic.
Again, I wrote this a few years ago. Since then we have gone back on many occasions to Willowwood Arboretum. It is a great spot for a quiet walk, and a bit of a meditative time. It never disappoints. The most recent time was the summer of 2019, it is as lush, green and peaceful as ever. We even managed to find a new hidden nook that we’ve never seen before. Here are a few photos:
Original Post
Recently, I have been noticing that our day trip, adventure going dynamic has changed around here. With my older one going on to becoming a full fledged teenager, and my husband’s job not having days off like he used to, our family trips have been very rare. During the school year it’s not noticeable: we are busy, and go on many day trips and adventures with our friends. This is not the school year, it is the middle of summer, and many of our friends are away for the time being.
This month I sharply felt the lack of adventurous trekking spirit in our lives. Therefore, I have declared that one day during the weekend should be dedicated to exploring different places together. Usually, that means that during the week we have to brainstorm and come up with a plan. It has to be a place that won’t be crowded, and three times out of four it has to be free or inexpensive.
Without a plan, our day often plops with people complaining about the choice options. I took on the role of a day trip dictator and came up with a list. From that list I pick off places to go to. Sometimes it can be as simple as going hiking in our local forest, or a park with a nice walk around the lake. Other times it’s a bit more complicated, with a trip to a garden or movies, or beach and a picnic. It’s more about time together then entertainment, and so far we have had really good few trips, where we got to walk together and enjoy each others’ company.
Bucks County, PA
May 2018
This has been a long time coming!! I’d drive by that place a few times a month, and would always wonder what is there. Finally we made it! This time it was just my little one, my husband and I. The big kid was off on his own adventure.
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Lacey and Berkeley Townships
July 2014
This is one place that we went to last summer that I keep meaning to mention, and finally got to it. I wanted to make sure that I put it here before the hot days of summer because it is a wonderful place to go and cool off in the summer time.
It is quite a distance from where we live, the drive was easy enough: just take Gardens State Parkway, and the park is very close to the exit, but it was a long drive. My kids and I went there to meet some friends and spend a few hours by the creek, cooling off.
Marlboro, NJ
Summer 2017
Big Brook is quite an interesting place to visit. It is not a place that I would ever know about without a few awesome people that told me about it. I know I took some time to write about it, but better late then never, and hopefully useful for this summer. Here is the story: Big Brook is a stream that runs through Monmouth County, NJ. The specific location we went to is in Marlboro NJ, but there are other spots. It is a great spot for a hike, but wait, there is more!
Mountainside, NJ
At least every month for the last 15 years!
Trailside Nature Center and Watchung Reservation is a wonderful place to visit with your family! However it has seen some changes in the past few years. The old dam has been rebuild into a brand new dam. Lake Surprise does go up and down in water levels through the season. Sometimes it resembles a muddy pond, sometimes a beautiful full lake. The trails are still wonderful, and the forest is still magical. The playground is always fun, and the museum is still fantastic.
Clinton and Lebanon Township, New Jersey
Every Summer
We love camping! My husband and I used to go with friends before we were married. Then, after we were married, it was with our nephews when they were young, then with our nephews and their friends. After that it was our nephews, their friends and our kids. Now for quite a few years it is just us and our two kids, even though friends and nephews make a brief entrance once in a while, it is mostly just us. However, no matter who we go with, it’s always relaxing and fun. Unfortunately for the last year we haven’t been able to go overnight because of our puppies, but we still enjoy going there for a day and swimming in the lake.
Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
October 2013
Ringing Rocks State Park in PA is definitely an interesting place to visit. The reason it is called Ringing Rocks is if you hit a rock with a hammer or another rock it makes a ringing sound, almost like a bell, but to me it sounded more like pots and pans being hit with a spoon (something my kids loved to do as toddlers).