Читать книгу Rail-Trails New Jersey & New York. The definitive guide to the region's top multiuse trails онлайн

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Mileage

5.1

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

3

Surface

Crushed Stone, Dirt, Gravel, Wood Chips

As you walk along the Elephant Swamp Trail, it’s easy to see where it picked up the swamp part of its name. As for the rest, legend has it that in the late 1800s, an elephant got loose in the swamp when a traveling circus passed through Elk Township by railroad.

In 1878 the former Pennsylvania–Reading Railroad built the tracks as part of a route from Camden to Bridgeton. The tracks were removed a century later, and the Elephant Swamp Trail now stands in their place. To this day, the trail guide bids visitors to “listen closely for the footsteps of a wandering elephant.” The pathway is part of the Circuit Trails, an expansive regional trail network across nine counties, including Gloucester County, which will eventually encompass 800 miles of trails.

The 5.1-mile community trail is unpaved, consisting mostly of large stones and wood chips that make it too bumpy for an enjoyable road or hybrid bike trip, though mountain bikes fare better. The natural flora and fauna of the trail (sometimes called the Elephant Swamp Nature Trail) make it ideal for a leisurely walk. From the path’s northern endpoint, the western terminus of the ssss1 is only 3.4 miles northeast.