The cement structures that held the bridge looked as though they may have been there since civil war days, but the bridge itself was newish. Despite the creakiness that came from the frozen wood, it was completely safe to cross (though I still held on tightly and wouldn’t let Sean onto it until I had finished crossing). Five minutes of weaving through the woods on the other side brought us to the D&R Canal Tow Path, though there wasn’t really a way to explore further.

The “trail” itself was more of a wide carriage path. AllTrails and NJ Hiking warned of mud, and I can see how the trail would quickly become a mud path after even a small amount of rain. However, I discovered a chilly morning in January was the perfect time to visit. Previous visitors’ boot prints were now perfectly preserved with occasional stretches of ice and frost in the frozen ground. The feel of tiny craters below our boots felt odd compared to the usual soft forest bed or rocky Adirondack terrain.

It was a nice stroll in the woods and excuse to actually visit Princeton for the first time, despite living so close for six years when I lived in Philadelphia. However, it’s not a trail I would otherwise seek out. The interconnected system of trails all seemed to form a loop, but there was next to no trail markers and I would highly recommend having the AllTrails map with GPS on your phone, just in case.