first visit to Sourlands

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
image.jpg
stopped by the Sourlands Mountain Preserve after the Nassau ride, well at least in principle
made the mistake to punch in the park into Waze, which brought me to somewhere in the middle of the preserve but not to a lot. A dog walker pointed me to a lot on 607/Riley Rd and that's where I started from. Lot was much smaller than I expected. Rode for about a half mile on a double track, passing signs for a yellow and blue trail intersections. Then at the end of double, where a big teeter toter like obstacle was, found signs for the white trail, which I've heard about. First quarter mile was rocky but mostly ridable, but then the boulders came which required hike a bike skills. Turned around after about a 1/2 mile past the low hanging power wires as it was time to pick up the kids.

On the way to Neshanic, googled Sourlands and found another entrance on East Mountain, which was on the way the the golf course. I think I went to the wrong park..., do the white trails meet up with the ones at the main park?
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
do the white trails meet up with the ones at the main park?

you was at the wrong spot. east mountain is the "sourlands" as most know it. those trails don't link up. i have a theory, but i never have time to connect the stuff in reality vs. in my brain.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
is there a trail map of the this other system? The east mt lot has a buzzilion people where by the other only had 2 other hikers
 

jnos

Well-Known Member
The East Mountain lot is where you want to park (GPS 40.473848, -74.694356). No clue what the trail colors are...I have colorblindness when it comes to trail markings.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
thanks, found an another with trails on the other side, are they also bike friendly?

yep. those trails aren't maintained as half as much as the east mountain trails. so you'll be dealing with overgrown trails in spots pretty soon. i rode them last summer trying to connect all the sourlands trails and the water co trails too. with a little road its doable, but the powerline trail at long hill road in hillsborough disappears and it is pretty much impassable unless i'm missing a trail off to the side somewhere.

off topic, but its funny i thought that it was illegal to ride there. it looks like that has changed according to the website. rock climbing and skiing still are tho. hunterdon co really needs to change that and drop some of the nanny laws.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
yep that one is a little dated. the other links used to specifically call out mountain biking as a no-no. at one point i had all these up on my garage wall planning an east mountain road to lambertville and back mega-ride. its not on the wall anymore but i still have all the maps planned out if you're interested in the route. only open question mark is long hill road out to ridge.
 

ivoromeu

Member
Is this the best way for a newbie?! First time was a couple years ago and couldn't ride up a few sections..

A good basic loop that covers most of the park highlights is about 8 miles long, but will feel like much more. Start from the parking lot and head towards the #13 post near the pond. After a few hundred feet, go left at Post #12. Continue across the gas pipeline easement and several boardwalks over the wetlands. The trail comes to a T intersection at Post #10; go left here. The trail is blazed with white squares. Follow the trail until you reach a 4-way intersection at Post #9. Make a right turn here onto a trail blazed with "C". This is a gentle climb up to Post #8. At this point, cross through the chain link fence and pick up the Red blaze trail (round & square). Pass by Post #7 and continue the climb up to Roaring Rocks. Just past Roaring Rocks, the square red trail goes towards the left and the round red trail continues straight. Take the left onto the square red trail - You are now on '3 Amigos'. This trail weaves its way through the boulder fields along the upper ridge for about 1.3 miles and eventually ends at the gas pipeline. If you're pressed for time, you can make a right down the pipeline, but I recommend turning around and riding 3 Amigos back to Roaring Rocks. The trail has a very different flow in each direction and has plenty of challenges to keep it from getting boring.
Once you reach the end of 3 Amigos, go left and continue to follow the round red blazes. The trail eventually brings you to another opening in the chain link fence by post #6. Pick up the white blazed trail here and vear towards the left. This section has some incredible rock gardens. Follow until the trail crosses the gas pipeline. Make a right on the pipeline trail and a quick left back onto the singletrack by Post #5. You are still on the white blazed trail and will remain on white all the way back to the lot. When you reach post #4, make a left onto 'Boulderama'. This trail is one of the highlights of the park. Lots of big rollers, rock bridges, and hucking opportunities. After about 1.5 miles, the trail starts to head downhill through some very technical terrain. On a nice weekend day, you will no doubt encounter hikers in this section, so be prepared to yield the trail. Boulderama dumps you out at Post #1. Continue straight on the white trail and you are back in the parking lot.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Good loop there - let me know if i can give you a tour..there are options, and alternate lines..
lots of placed to stop and try again, or just walk it, to be conquered another day.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@ivoromeu . I wrote that loop description a couple of years ago and a few things have changed since then. The biggest change is that the red trail now continues past the gas pipeline and ends on the white trail near the beginning of Boulderama.

The latest trail map is here. http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/genInfo/maps/SourlandsMap.pdf

A good basic loop would be to start by the pond and do a clockwise loop following the outermost trails.

How many miles would that be Jeff? I want to get back there with the big bike. Been a few years.
 

ktmrider

Well-Known Member
How many miles is a good loop here ? Is it hard to get lost ? we are thinking about hitting this after work on wed .
 

rick81721

Lothar
How many miles is a good loop here ? Is it hard to get lost ? we are thinking about hitting this after work on wed .

Almost impossible to get lost. The biggest loop is less than 6 miles, there are only a few connector trails, and the main trails all cross a pipeline clearing - when you hit that you can always bomb it down to the parking lot area
 

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