Since the beginning of the new year, I've been trying to find outdoor spaces I had never been to or explored. There are a ton more out there than I expected.

If you're a serious hiker, you've probably explored, most of the ones by you, or at least the more well-known ones. If you just google "hiking trails near me," you might be shocked to find some that are so close to your house, but you never knew.

I did just that a couple of weeks ago and found one in a remote part of the town I lived in for 30 years. Some civic minded folks in the county thought it would be a good use of public land to turn this part of the pines into a public park and hiking trail. Black Run Preserve is nothing fancy. It's mostly flat like most of the surrounding area. There is an old cranberry bog along the trail and forest is unique to our area and worth appreciating.

A look through the Black Run Preserve

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis's own.

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