Hiking Trails in West Amwell

Dry Run Creek 

The trail descends through woods into the steep-sided valley of the Dry Run Creek, a tributary of Moore’s Creek. It then gradually climbs north, sometimes skirting the charming ledge-bound creek, passing over three rustic bridges and an old dam. The trail climbs up out of the creek valley, sometimes on stone stairways, to its north end at Route 518. The Rockhopper Trails directly across Route 518, continues 2.3 miles to the edge of Lambertville.

Rockhopper Trail

The trail ascends slightly through mature hardwood forest, winding between numerous small abandoned 19th century quarry pits. It then descends along a hillside that drains into the Lambertville Water Company reservoir, and reaches old Rock Road, along which General Washington marched on his way from Lambertville to the battle of Monmouth in 1778. The trail follows this old route for only 50 yards or so, diverts into the woods, and then again follows the old road for about a quarter of a mile. It then follows a new path through woods, skirts a field, and emerges at its southwest corner. Crossing the corner of the field, it re-enters the woods. After a few hundred yards, at a fork, the main blue-marked trail goes left, and alternative orange-marked trail goes straight. The main trail emerges on a power line corridor and follows it to the right (north). Where the orange trail rejoins the blue trail, the path heads down off the power line corridor and follows another segment of the historic Rock Road, now looking more like a streambed. The trail comes out onto the end of modern-day but unpaved Rock Road, which descends along the steep northern slope of the Swan Creek valley down to Quarry Street in Lambertville.

Pryde's Point-Alexauken Creek

This large expanse of forest on both sides of the Alexauken Creek includes “Pryde’s Point”—private land with trails open to the public—and the State of New Jersey’s Alexauken Creek Wildlife Management area. The combined preserve can be entered from the north off Gulick Road, and from the south off Rocktown-Lambertville Road. A network of trails on the north side provides several routes down to the Alexauken Creek, and one trail from the south descends to the creek as well. From both directions, walkers can go several miles down along the creek, returning on the other side—with the sound of small falls over rock ledges to entertain them along the way. Stepping stone crossings at several places allow walkers to construct loop hikes of varying length.                                                                  

Kyle's Trail

The trail descends gradually through mature woods to a tranquil end point. The woods are part of a 34-acre farm along Goat Hill Road not far from the “Washington Rocks” property, the location from which General George Washington viewed the Delaware River in planning the Christmas crossing of the Delaware in 1776. A low rectangular boulder behind the Dondero homestead (a private home adjacent to the woods and not open to the public) is said to mark the site from which Cornelius Coryell and General Washington surveyed the Delaware River below.