Plainsboro Preserve
Park Overview
The Plainsboro Preserve is a tract of about 1,000 acres in Plainsboro Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey. Owned and managed by Plainsboro Township, the preserve supports a diversity of habitats and wildlife, with one of the largest lakes in the area.
Trail Overview
There are eight short blazed trails in the preserve, which total about five miles. The longest trail is the 2.2-mile Blue Trail, which loops around the northwest corner of the preserve. It is accessed from the parking lot by the 0.7-mile White Trail, which is a wide woods road. A 3.6-mile lollipop-loop hike can be fashioned by hiking into the preserve on the White Trail and then following the loop of the Blue Trail. For a shorter hike, you can take the Blue Shortcut. A trail map is available online at www.plainsboronj.com/250/Plainsboro-Preserve or at the nature center.
A special feature of the Blue Trail is that it closely parallels Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Railfans will be treated to a procession of trains passing at high speeds, which can be viewed through the trees (the views of the trains are best when there are no leaves on the trees). On a recent visit, we observed, in a period of ten minutes, the Pennsylvanian, a Keystone train, and an Acela train. There are piles of discarded ties along the trail, many of which are covered with moss. These ties are remnants of a spur rail line that once served the former quarry on the property. Sand and gravel from the quarry was shipped daily by a unit train to South Amboy. The quarry was abandoned in the 1980s, and the abandoned rail spur is now the route of the Blue Trail.
Park Description
The preserve includes a nature center, the 50-acre McCormack Lake, and about five miles of hiking trails. The terrain is nearly flat, and the trails are easy to follow.