Jockey Hollow Trail Map (click to enlarge)

Be sure to pick up a trail map at either the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center or the Washington’s Headquarters Museum. There is a small fee for the map. You can also download a PDF version on the Park Map web page here on National Park Planner.

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Length: 1.4-mile loop
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy with a couple moderate hills

The Red Trail (aka Primrose Brook Trail) is accessed at the Trail Center parking lot located on Jockey Hollow Road about halfway between its intersection with Grand Parade Road and the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center. This is not on the main park map, but it is shown on the trail map.

There are two trailheads for the Red Trail, one located directly across the road from the parking lot—which is the most sensible place to start—and a second a little farther down towards the Visitor Center. When you end the hike, which is a loop, you must return to the parking lot along the road.

Red Trail trailhead across the road from the Trail Center parking lot

After a quarter mile of hiking, you will find yourself in an area of lush ferns and other greenery as the Red Trail begins to follow a small creek called Primrose Brook.

Primrose Brook

The trail crosses the creek a number of times, usually on stepping stones.

Stepping stones across Primrose Brook

Primrose Brook is very picturesque. The Red Trail often runs so close to it that if you tripped, you could fall right in, which is quite possible since the trail surface is very rocky. Watch your step.

Red Trail hugs Primrose Brook for much of the way out

About .3 mile from the start is a connector trail to the other side of the loop so that you can cut the hike short and quickly return to the parking lot. However, the trail is only 1.4 miles long to begin with, so if that’s too long for you, you probably shouldn’t be hiking in the first place.

Shortcut

At .45 mile into the hike is a four-way intersection with the White Trail (aka Grand Loop Trail). A sign points to different destinations that are accessible from the intersection, but keep in mind that all trail signs within Morristown National Historical Park use the actual trail names, not the trail color names as does the trail map. Stay straight to remain on the Red Trail.

First intersection with the White Trail

The Red Trail crosses the White Trail a second time just a quarter mile farther ahead. This marks the far end of the loop, the point where you start heading back to the parking lot. It also marks the point where the trail veers from the water, which effectively ends the pleasant scenery until the very last quarter mile when the trail once again hugs the brook.

Second intersection with the White Trail

Creeks and rivers tend to run through the lowest point on the landscape, so as expected, the Red Trail heads uphill on a moderate incline as it departs Primrose Brook. In addition, it is a little overgrown, so be sure to check yourself for ticks.

Overgrown section of the trail just past the White Trail intersection

As mentioned, the Red Trail once again runs very close to Primrose Brook for its last quarter mile. When it finally comes to an end at Jockey Hollow Road, take a right. It’s a tenth of a mile back to Trail Center.

Intersection with Jockey Hollow Road

When I am hiking a trail in a history-themed park such as Morristown National Historical Park, I want to hike a trail that takes me past historical sites so that I can get a feel for the events that took place. While the Red Trail does have some pretty scenery, it passes no historical sites, markers, or monuments. It’s simply a hike for exercise, and if it is exercise that you are after, hiking one of the shortest trails in the park isn’t going to help you accomplish your goal. I suggest skipping this and hiking the Yellow Trail or the New Jersey Brigade Trail if you are interested in history, or the White Trail if you want exercise.

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