Doggin' Morristown National Historic Park: Hike With Your Dog Through A Revolutionary Camp

Morristown, a village of 250, was a center of iron supply for the American Revolution and even though it lay only 30 miles west of the main British force in New York it was protected by a series of parallel mountain ranges. It was the twin luxuries of a defensible position in close proximity to the enemy that twice brought General Washington to camp his main army here, first in 1777 and again in 1779-1780.

After the Battle of Princeton in January 3, 1777 a worn-down Colonial army swarmed the tiny town seeking shelter in the few public buildings, private homes, barns and stables then in existence. Steadily Washington rebuilt his flagging troops, overcoming desertion and insipient food shortages.

His greatest foe, however, was disease. An outbreak of smallpox threatened to decimate the small army and Washington ordered the little known and, to many, horrifying procedure of innoculation. Some indeed died but most of his troops did not contract the deadly pox.

The park was created in 1933 as a national historic park in the heart of New Jersey.

Canine hiking at Morristown National Historic Park is found at the Jockey Hollow Encampment Area. When here, nothing could have prepared the Continental Army for the worst winter of the 18th century. Twenty-eight blizzards pounded the slopes and whipped through the wooden huts that were cut from 600 acres of hardwood forests here.

You can hike with your dog through open and airy forests with long views through the trees from the trail. Four main dog-friendly trails circle the Jockey Hollow Encampment. The 6.5-mile Grand Loop Trail, blazed in white, circles the park but doesn't visit any historical attractions without a detour. It is also the only trail that cannot be accessed from the centrally located Trail Center.

The Aqueduct Loop Trail and the stacked loop Primrose Brook Trail are two of the prettiest rambles with your dog in the park as they trace some of the many gurgling streams that once attracted the Colonial Army.
The long-distance Patriot's Path links Jockey Hollow to the New Jersey Encampment Area and neighboring park's and contributes mightily to the total of 27 well-groomed miles of Morristown trails.

You will find Morristown along interstate 287 in New Jersey. Traveling south on 287, use exit 36 to reach Jockey hollow. Traveling north on 287, take exit 36A.

 

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