Recently, I found myself in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Phillipsburg doesn’t get a lot of attention in the Garden State. It’s an area northwest of Trenton and an area that is truly considered “the Garden State”. I decided to take a walk at the 650 acre Merrill Creek Reservoir. The reservoir is a man-made lake with a dam constructed in 1986-1987. A surprising fact is the construction cost $217 million and was one of the largest construction projects in the US.
Merrill Creek has plenty of space and can be used for running, hiking, cross-country skiing, and photography. If I was local it would be somewhere I would run. There are several loops but I chose to walk around the 5.5-mile perimeter loop. It’s fairly flat and well maintained.
There are beautiful views of both the reservoir as well as mountains in the background. If I lived close by, I could see myself running there. It was quiet and there were only a few others on the trail.
The bark peeled off means a bear got to it :O
The trail was a bit flooded over in one small section
You could walk over the dam
In all, it was a lot of fun and a short easy walk. It took about 2 hours to complete. If you’re looking for something easy, scenic, and fun, the Merrill Creek Reservoir is a good option.
You Can See More Hikes here.
Questions for you:
Have you ever walked around a reservoir
Where is your favorite spot to hike around you?
