Manasquan Floodplain Trail – Allaire State Park – Wall Township, Monmouth County, NJ
Distance: 0.5 miles (with another mile around the buildings that are not on the trail)
Type: Horseshoe (loop if you use the green trail)
Difficulty: 3 of 10 – for trail blazes disapearing.
Total score: 3 of 10.
Terrain – Swamp, swamp, and more swamp.
Trailheads – 40° 9.318’N, 74° 7.603’W or 40° 9.367’N, 74° 7.730’W. Second trailhead is where we started.
Directions: Follow directions to Allaire State Park
Standouts – Manasquan River, lots of fun mud in the flood plain
Markings – Yellow paint markers, orange tape tied to trees.
Yellow.
Description: I start with a warning:
The warning.
Not noted on the sign is that this trail took some pretty bad damage during Hurricane Sandy. Like, you can see one of the footbridges on its side in the middle of the swamp damage (didn’t get a picture, didn’t have a clear angle). Just keep that in mind.
So you’ll come into the parking lot at Allaire Village and head right at the sign for Historic Allaire Village. Walk down past the little pond, where you’ll cross the road/Green Trail. Keep an eye out for the yellow trail.
What the trailhead looks like.
You’ll drop down a bit, cross a nice foot bridge, and come almost immediately to a little stream with all sorts of dire warnings. I can’t tell if they are jokes or not.
Cross the bridge.
Possibly not a joke.
This must be a joke.
You’ll follow the yellow trail markers along the stream until you reach the intersection with the Manasquan River.
Trail.
Creek and river collide.
At this point, keep a close eye out, because the yellow trail markers are going to mysteriously disappear. I think it’s hurricane damage. They’ll be replaced by orange flagging, a fact that took us a little while to figure out.
Where the heck did the trail go?
Look for these when you run out of trail markers.
Soon you’ll see something few the trees.
As quick as you started, you’re almost done your short hike. The last stop is the the old furnace stack at Allaire Village.
The last remaining bog iron furnace stack in New Jersey. At least I think I read that somewhere at some point. It may not be true.
You’ll then exit the trail at the edge of the historic village area.
Its only been a half mile, so I heartily suggest taking a walk around the village, then the Pine Creek Railroad area on the other side of the parking lot. It added an extra mile to our morning walk.
Railroad area.
Overall recommendation: Nice little walk, at least without the mud. Great walk when you add in a stroll around the village. Plenty of more trails here, Green Trail (4 1/2 miles), Red Nature Trail (1 1/2 miles), Pink Trail (???), and the Orange Trail (16.5 miles).
allaire is awesome, i love how active the park is, they have neat events all the time like war and rally reenactments. plus the stores give people another excuse to check the place out. I wish batsto had as many activities because i havent found a historic village as beautiful.