Seven miles of rail trail with local history, ponds in a headwater area and an 1810 mill: Hunterdon County offers a wide range of discoveries. If you want to plan your trip around specific interests, natural areas, museums and farm experiences each offer their own starting points.
Nature, Trails and Water
The Columbia Trail is a seven-mile rail trail with a rich local history. The Teetertown Preserve offers a different combination: its 302 acres include trails, ponds, a gorge and campsites open to the public. Here, both paths through the landscape and a variety of natural features take center stage.
At Crystal Springs Preserve, several ponds form the headwaters of the Spruce Run. They are therefore not just part of the landscape, but are also connected to the waterway’s source. The Schick Reserve in Alexandria Township adds another option, with eight miles of trails across 311 acres. For a clear comparison of scale, the trail lengths are eight miles at Schick Reserve and seven on the Columbia Trail—there as a single rail trail, here as part of a preserve.
The Ridge Trail in Cushetunk Mountain Preserve offers scenic views of the reservoir. The Musconetcong River in Point Mountain Nature Preserve is stocked with trout seasonally. If you fish there, state fishing regulations apply.
Mills, Art and History
The Hunterdon Art Museum presents changing exhibitions of contemporary art, craft and design. It is housed in a 19th-century stone mill listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Current exhibitions thus meet a historic building, offering a distinctive perspective for anyone interested in both the disciplines on display and the architecture.
An 1810 mill is at the heart of Red Mill Museum Village. The museum covers ten acres and includes, among other things, a quarry, a schoolhouse and a log cabin. There is also a working blacksmith shop. The mill is therefore part of a larger ensemble of different buildings and crafts.
Red Mill Museum Village hosts craft markets, art exhibitions, music festivals and historical reenactments throughout the year. These recurring types of events complement the buildings with a changing cultural program.
Farm Experiences and Seasonal Themes
The Hunterdon 579 Trail features stops with farm tours, encounters with farm animals and opportunities to pick your own fruit and vegetables. Its offerings range from guided insights into daily farm life to picking your own produce. If you’re interested in agriculture and these kinds of activities, the trail offers a different way to explore the area than the county’s museums and natural attractions.
The 2026 Hunterdon County Beer Trail Pass offers another way to discover participating locations: each participating venue becomes a stop on the tour, and you get a stamp with every visit. The year is part of the offer: this is specifically the pass for 2026.
Getting Around the County
The Hunterdon County LINK Transportation System includes scheduled routes, demand-response services and customized transportation assistance. These three categories show that the service includes different forms of transportation. A separate plan focuses on cycling: the Hunterdon County Bicycle Plan aims to connect residents and visitors with the county’s cultural and recreational offerings through a connected countywide bicycle network. The focus is on the countywide network concept.
For specific directions, Observatory Road in Voorhees State Park leads to the NJAA Observatory and its parking lot.
Discover more destinations: Flemington, Lebanon, Frenchtown, Lambertville, Readington Township, Cumberland, Sussex County, Union.
For the broader travel overview: New Jersey.
