Patriot’s Path
The Patriots’ Path is a gradually developing network of hiking, biking and equestrian trails and green open spaces linking several dozen Federal, state, county and municipal parks, watershed lands, historic sites and other points of interest across southern Morris County. The purpose of the system is to provide opportunities for passive outdoor recreation while protecting and enhancing the environmental and aesthetic integrity of the stream valleys and uplands through which it passes.
The path is long (> 45 miles) and linear, starting in Livingston, running through Whippany, past the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, through Morris Plains, across Speedwell Avenue in Morristown, passes just north of Lewis Morris Park, goes through Morris Township, Mendham, Mendham Township, and Chester. It is planned to continue on to Schooley’s Mountain County Park in Chester Township. There will even be a branch that connects to the New Jersey Brigade Hut Sites in Bernardsville (wiki).
Much of the Path lies along the corridors of the Whippany and Black Rivers and the South Branch of the Raritan. The lower Whippany has suffered for years form industrial and sewage pollution and urban runoff but is slowly being brought back to life. The Black and South Branch of the Raritan, on the other hand, are two of the most pristine trout production streams in the state.
Because it is long and linear, it is easiest to describe in three sections (i.e., Morris Township section, Washington Valley section, Mendham Township section).
