This hike follows the lollipop-loop Cedar Swamp Trail through the Spotswood Outlier of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, located about 20 miles north of the main Pine Barrens. It is characterized by sandy acidic soil and vegetation that is adapted to soil with few nutrients and little water holding capability. The hike proceeds through mixed hardwood forest wetlands and pitch...
Hike Description:
This hike follows the lollipop-loop Cedar Swamp Trail through the Spotswood Outlier of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, located about 20 miles north of the main Pine Barrens. It is characterized by sandy acidic soil and vegetation that is adapted to soil with few nutrients and little water holding capability. The hike proceeds through mixed hardwood forest wetlands and pitch pine forests.
From the parking area, walk back (northwest) on Helmetta Boulevard for about 300 feet until you reach a crossing of a sand road. Turn right and head north on the sand road, soon passing a triple-orange blaze that marks the start of the orange-blazed Cedar Swamp Trail (the triple blaze may not be visible from the road).
Continue along the orange-blazed sand road, which is eroded in places and shows signs of use by off-road vehicles. The road soon curves to the left. Just ahead, a green-blazed trail begins on the right. This will be your return route, but for now, continue ahead on the orange-blazed sand road. Over the next half mile, the road makes two sharp turns to the right.
At a sharp curve to the left, about three-quarters of a mile from the start of the hike, you’ll come to a junction, which marks the start of the loop. The main sand road bears left here, but you should bear right and follow a lesser-used route, which has narrowed to a footpath. This route is little used by off-road vehicles and is thus the most pleasant part of the hike.
The trail descends very slightly, but enough to produce a noticeable change in vegetation (the open forest is replaced by a dense growth of thorny vines). Half a mile from the start of the loop, it crosses a stream on a wooden footbridge. In another quarter mile, the trail climbs a little and reaches a T-intersection with a sand road.
Turn left and follow the sand road as it heads northwest. This section of the road is also little used by off-road vehicles and is quite pleasant to hike. In 0.3 mile, you’ll reach another intersection. Follow the orange blazes, which turn left onto another sand road that shows signs of significant use by off-road vehicles.
After passing a wet area on the left, you’ll reach the end of the loop portion of the hike. Bear right and continue along the orange-blazed sand road, which soon makes a sharp right turn. A short distance beyond this turn, a green-blazed trail begins on the left. Turn left onto this trail, which climbs over a rise to end at a second junction with the orange-blazed sand road. Turn left, follow the orange-blazed sand road back to Helmetta Boulevard, then turn left onto Helmetta Boulevard to return to your car.
Publication: Submitted by Daniel Chazin on 01/25/2014 updated/verified on 04/10/2023This hike meanders through a section of the Spotswood Outlier of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, with its unique ecological area of mixed hardwood forests and pitch pines.