Sourland Mountain Preserve

From JORBA

The Big Squeeze
The Big Squeeze

Contents

[edit] Overview

The 3197 acre Sourland Mountain Preserve is county owned and administered by the Somerset County Park Commission. The Preserve provides passive recreational opportunities in an undisturbed natural setting.

[edit] Location

The park can be accessed from East Mountain Road in Hillsborough.

[edit] JORBA Involvement

The Somerset County chapter of JORBA was started in 2006 and included both Washington Valley Park and Sourland Mountain Preserve. The first year JORBA concentrated on fixing some major drainage problems that had built up over the years on existing trails, as well as establishing a strong working relationship with the Park Commission. We took full advantage of the plentiful rock supply Sourland is so well-known for and began honing our trail-armoring technique, a skill that we would reuse many times on future projects. We also completed a major re-route of a badly eroded connector trail. At the end of 2008, we added a half mile of new singletrack that connected Roaring Rocks directly to trail marker #6, by way of the former 3M quarry property, which had been recently purchased by the County. The opening of this trail was a significant accomplishment, and represented a major milestone in JORBA's partnership with the Park Commission.
In early 2009, the good will earned in 2008 carried forward with the approval and opening of a significant section of new trail. JORBA (in partnership with the Park Commission) designed, planned, routed and constructed the 3 Amigos trail on the former 3M property. We added 1.3 miles of brand new technical singletrack, completing construction of the entire trail in only 1 day. Due to the high volume of summer rains, much of the remainder of 2009 was spent addressing problem wet areas on the low lying trail between posts #9 & #10. Crews relocated two boardwalks and armored over 100' of muddy trail. Several minor trail re-routes were also incorporated to bypass altogether several problematic (muddy) areas.

[edit] Getting Involved

Please visit the Somerset County JORBA forums for volunteer opportunities.
Also, you can email Jeff Drobits at somerset@jorba.org

[edit] TM Sessions

[edit] 2008

[edit] 2009

[edit] 2010

TBD

[edit] Projects

The New 3 Amigos Trail
The New 3 Amigos Trail

[edit] 3 Amigos

This is the crown jewel of the work done at Sourlands by JORBA. In early 2009, the 3 Amigos trail was built in the span of one morning (and part of one afternoon) where we saw 25 volunteers come out and give a total of almost 100 hours total in an effort to complete the 1.3 mile trail in a single session. To the astonishment of the park staff, the work was completed in 1 day. The trail uses many existing rock features as it winds its way from the clearing (gas pipeline) to roaring brook. It has established itself as a park favorite by many riders.
Further discussion on MTBNJ.com

[edit] Roaring Rocks Extension

In November 2008, JORBA opened up a new 1/2 mile trail linking the famed Roaring Rocks section of the park with the main trail network. JORBA teamed up with some local bouldering enthusiasts and hikers to build the new link. In addition to some terrific new singletrack, the trail was routed adjacent to some of the best bouldering spots in central NJ.
Further discussion on MTBNJ

[edit] Drainage Problems

Despite the elevation and heavy presence of rocks, the lower lying trails at the Sourlands do not drain well. As such, it is a constant effort to assess, fix, and recommend reroutes to the lower sections of the park. Aside from the fact that these are low-lying, these are also closest to the parking lot so they are the most heavily traveled. While this is not the most exciting part of the trail work being done here, it is one of the more challenging and necessary endeavors. JORBA is always assessing how it deals with the wet trails and trying to improve upon these specific problem areas by armoring, rerouting, or simply raising the trails with turnpikes, boardwalks, or bridges.

[edit] TM Hours

  • 2008: 80 (approximate)
  • 2009: 196 (so far)

[edit] Pictures

Building 3 Amigos

More 3 Amigos Work

Raising the tread through a muddy section

Rocks are one of the most sustainable trail surfaces

Elevating the Trail Over Wet Areas

Building New Trail off Roaring Rocks

Heavy Armoring of a Wet Section


[edit] Trail Descriptions

[edit] Boulderama

This trail runs between posts #4 & #1 on the park trail map. The best flow is from #4 to #1. There are rocks the size of fists, basketballs, and small cars along Boulderama. Dense rock gardens will test your technical skills, and there are plenty of opportunities to jump, huck and otherwise get air under your tires. Boulderama is the main trail that most hikers take right out of the parking lot, so be prepared to yield the right of way. Since this runs at the top of the ridge and through rocks it has different characteristics than many of the lower-lying trails. The trail is primarily built on a rock base so it is a lower maintainance trail. JORBA involvement here is more general maintenance and small reroutes only where necessary.
blaze: white square
length: 2 miles


[edit] Roaring Rocks Extension

This trail was built by JORBA in fall 2008, linking Roaring Rocks to the main trail network (by post #6 on the trail map). JORBA teamed up with some local bouldering enthusiasts to construct the trail. In addition to providing some unique singletrack around and over the massive rocks, the trail provides access to some of the best bouldering spots in central NJ.
blaze: Red Circle
length: 0.5 miles


[edit] 3 Amigos

The newest addition to the park, this trail starts at Roaring Rocks, snakes along the ridge through some stunning terrain, and ends on the gas pipeline that bisects the park. There is very little elevation gain/loss on 3 Amigos, but the natural rock features that were incorporated into the trail make it a very challenging trail for intermediate/experts. The 1.3 mile long trail was built in a single TM session with over 25 JORBA volunteers lending a hand.
blaze: Red Square
length: 1.3 miles

[edit] Trail Maps

Trail Map - Updated 12/09

[edit] Resources

Retrieved from "http://www2.jorba.org/index.php?title=Sourland_Mountain_Preserve"








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