Shalawa / Hammond Meadow
A secret passage in plain sight whisks you to this venerated seaside meadow. From the small parking lot, a footpath squeezes between the hedgerows, across Montecito Creek, past estate gardens…
Sayen Garden
Formal gardens surrounding the Arts and Crafts era Sayen bungalow, dense woods and a beautifully landscaped park share this compact 30-acre corner in Hamilton – connected by a wonderfully convoluted…
Paramount Ranch
Trails explore prairies in all directions from the parking lot – but the centerpiece here is entirely “Western Town,” which 2018’s Woolsey fire reduced to the picturesque white church featured…
Oxnard Historic Farm Park
A vibrant oasis of Oxnard’s agricultural heritage, Oxnard Historic Farm park is brimming with community heirlooms, including three buildings that have held their ground as acres and acres of farmland…
Garden of the Gods
The ghosts of Hollywood’s by-gone cowboys play here all day long, I think. You can practically hear shwa-pings hitting the boulders as you shimmy between them and duck into caves.…
Duke Farms
How privileged we all are, with our open invitation to step into this timeless, seemingly boundless, no-expense-spared, aristocratic park at our leisure (Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30am to 6pm). From the…
D & R Canal – Mapleton Road & Millstone Aqueduct Trail
This hub of lanky bridges, peaceful lake vistas, fishing nooks, historic landmarks, and paths-less-taken is an especially charismatic section of the D & R Canal Towpath. A cool feature here,…
Battlefield Park
Psssst. There’s a secret little park behind the Princeton Battlefield Monument – and it hides the best climbing tree in town. And a scenic little pond. With smitten geese. And…
Orcutt Ranch
Surprises linger around every corner of this hidden garden. One third of it is formal and manicured, often featuring a bride; another third is a park-scaped barranca with picnic areas…
High Tower Elevator
For key-carrying residents, the High Tower is a 1920s elevator from a bank of garages to the meta level of meandering pathways leading to quirky stoops and gateways. For the…
Venice Canals
Venice’s real magic doesn’t happen on the Pacific, if you ask us, but 2 blocks from it at a different waterscape. The Venice Canal Historic District is what remains of an…
Allaire Village
Pretty wooded and riverside trails are spun around the pristinely restored early 19th century Allaire Village and Howell Iron Works Company. As you stroll past the row houses, blacksmith shop…
Pine Creek Railroad at Allaire State Park
The New Jersey Transit Museum has made its captivating home here since 1952, showcasing turn of the century railcars and locomotives. Its Pine Creek Railroad is one of the oldest…
Meher Mount
Reverence for nature is inevitable when you take in the view at Meher Mount, which is exactly as Meher Baba intended. Affectionately called “Baba,” he was an important spiritual leader…
Pleasant Valley Charles Honn Botanical Garden
This sweet little garden wedge is brimming with curiosities and pollinators. It’s a designated urban bee lab for UC Berkeley and includes a certified wildlife habitat area. On a Saturday…
King Gillette Ranch
Mr. Gillette’s glamorous, elaborate Spanish Colonial Revival style villa in its sea of sprawling lawns floats like a green island in the rolling caramel-colored, oak-dotted Calabasas hills. From the Visitor Center,…
The Cross Path
A cross has stood in the spot on the hill overlooking Ventura since the late 1700s, roughly since Junipero Serro founded the San Buenaventura Mission. Surrounded by a beautifully maintained…
Franceschi Park
This enchanting antique estate and garden are in contention for the park with the world’s best view. You’re confronted with the view the moment you park – spanning a full…
Wiman Canyon & Old Pueblo Trail
From the shaded, green belly of a canyon, the Wiman Canyon Trail quickly shoots up to meet the dry, baked pathways of the Old Pueblo Trail that run behind the…
Cross Estate Gardens
A secret garden. Right here in New Jersey – and complete with ivy-covered stone walls, trellised passageways, a romantic estate, rolling meadows and even a Rapunzelesque stone tower. No doubt…
Jockey Hollow Preserve
It was literally, technically and absolutely freezing cold the day we journeyed through Jockey Hollow. So as we ducked into the replicas of soldiers huts atop the hill, we felt…
Rosedale Park to the Historic Hunt House
Yes, it has that – whatever it is you’re hoping for. Lake, picnic benches, covered pavilions, paved trails, unpaved trails, hidden footpaths, playgrounds, bathrooms, dog park, historic house, connecting trails,…
Kingston Mill Footpath
Quite familiar to the herons and human fisherpeople, the charming little footpath that winds along and across stone walls and past the Kingston Mill is quite discrete. Bringing along a…
Titus Farm
“For 53 years, Thomas Titus and his descendants farmed this plot of land. Once an enslaved person, his remains lie here in an unmarked grave, as if keeping watch over…
Buddhist Vihara Meditation Trail
Even as an unabashed construction site while the temple is added, this place is a worthwhile experience. The Samadhi (meditation posture) statue of Buddha is the largest of its kind…
Goat Hill Overlook
Typically, it takes a moderate to intensely treacherous hike to reach a view like this – but at barely a mile on a broad path with a gentle incline, your…
Barbara Smoyer Park
This park checks every box for every age and interest. With several entrances, the park evolves from a serene, lake side historic garden to a playground and soccer recreation field…
D & R Canal – Kingston
Kingston is an ideal portal into the wonderful D & R Canal towpath world, with ample parking and so much to see. Scenically and/or historically, it offers the Locktender’s House,…
Cook Preserve & Heathcote Meadow
The age old stone bridge at its heart is a good representation of the whole preserve: timeless, intriguing and undiscovered by most. There are woods, grassy meadows, farmland, creeks, a…
Hamilton Veteran’s Park
You’ll see a fighter jet, 911 memorial, veterans’ memorial, formal gardens, Seward Johnson sculpture and sprawling playground before you even reach the main parking lot. Explore the 333 acres a…
Baldpate Mountain
Scramble up a boulderfall and through some enchanting passageways and you’ll see all the way to Philadelphia – telescope provided!
Rock Mill Preserve
Such care has gone into sharing this magical place, buried in the woods. Beginning at the trail head, signs appoint the pathway like footmen guiding your passage, describing the historic…
Institute Woods
Timeless pathways for Sunday promenades connect vast prairies, historic landmarks, a wild life refuge and the D & R canal – not to mention the Institute for Advanced Studies. Technically,…
Brearley Great Meadow Trail
It all begins with a bonafide country lane that leads to a meadow in which has sat for a very long time the home of John Brearley, one of the…
Schenck Covenhoven Graveyard
Hidden in plain sight, this unimposing burial ground has been here for over two centuries. Today it anchors pathways symmetrically mowed into a broad, flat meadow. Though the cemetery wall…
Schoolhouse Trail at Schuss Woods
Squeezed between Orchard Hill and Montgomery Middle Schools and along Back Brook, the trail gets its name from the sweet one-room schoolhouse still perched at the edge of Schuss Woods.…
St. Michael’s Farm Preserve (West)
If you’re a fan of the English countryside like me, your heart will swell at the views in this lovely shire, complete with a village steeple and farm silos. On…
Herrontown Woods
Unless you were at Herrontown Woods this morning, there’s something new for you to discover there. Exuberant and deft hands are clearing new trails, laying stepping stones, building yurts (!),…
Kingston Grotto Berm Path
Two paths hug the canal heading South from the Kingston Locktender’s house. This is the sequestered one. It follows the canal past Kingston’s historic nursery lands with sweet country pathways…
Rocky Hill Knoll
This teeny trail on a mini hill is perfect for picnicking, Easter egg hunts, pretending you’re on an island, rolling or sledding down the hill, and hide-and-seek (especially if you…
Mapleton Preserve
Deer, wild turkeys, foxes, eagles…. they’ll be startled by you in this tranquil, precious collection of trees and pathways. Several building relics and countless intriguing tree species stand tribute to…
Fernbrook Farm Trails
But wait there’s more! Farm animals, formal gardens, hiking trails, campfires, children’s garden, lakes, creeks, accommodations…. and you will still find more than you expect. VISIT FERNBROOK FARM WEBSITE DIRECTIONS…
Historic Overlook Park
This forgotten place is full of wonderful, precious surprises. An allee of trees leads to one of Princeton’s oldest specimens, “The Washington Oak,” alive when the Constitution was signed and…