Washington Valley Park - Red & White trails

Heard about this park on njhiking.com, as part of their short hikes section.  It was nearby, so I figured it was perfect for us.  It was a bit hard to find!  But eventually we managed to get in.

Washington Valley Park is shaped sort of like a butterfly.  I had intended on going to the east "wing" but ended up in the western one instead. The west "wing" has 3 trails - Red, White and Blue.  The east "wing" has Yellow and Orange.  The west side at least is very popular with mountain bikers, so if you plan to hike there be aware of them.  The trails can be a bit confusing because there are "perimiter" trails and "interior" trails.  One is marked with square blazes, the other with circles. 

 We asked a biker in the parking lot which trail he thought was best,  he basically indicated the blue or red trails.  I headed out on Red. This trail follows the resevoir for a bit, then curves up and through the forest.  

 Going uphill, we saw this in the "valley" below the trail.

 Sammy and I stopped to watch some hawks soar over the quarry.

 Most of this was just dense forest.  Quiet away from the parking lot, though we did see other people.

 
We crossed the little bridge and kept going onto the White trail.  On the White trail we saw a LOT of wildlife, including many deer!  I had seen a 2 snakes (one of whom was eating a frog) on the Red trail, but this was really nice.  I got quite close to a couple of them, and twice a group of them came out of the woods to jump over the trail about 20-30 feet in front of us.  My cell phone camera is crap though, so sadly I didn't get any good pics. 


 Length:  ?? Can't seem to find any listings.  Elevation: Minimal.