Bring in the New Year with these local hikes, from Marsh Creek to the Pine Barrens

With First Day hikes surging in popularity, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are rolling out a full slate of outings to welcome 2026 — from daybreak rambles to sunset treks, and nearly every hour in between for those easing into the New Year.

Many of the guided hikes require advance registration and fill quickly.

The Jan. 1 hikes are offered through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Some are guided by rangers, others by volunteers.

For example, you can set out with “Ranger Kim” for a 1.5-mile walk at Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown, Chester County. Or venture two to three miles through pine barrens at Black Run Preserve in Evesham Township, Burlington County.

Another option: Join the Friends of Ridley Creek State Park in Media, Delaware County, for a 3.5-mile loop featuring creek views and a stop at historic hilltop Russell Cemetery.

Or, for a spectacular bird’s-eye view of the Pinelands at daybreak, you can tackle a 2.5-mile round trip, starting at 6 a.m., to Apple Pie Hill in Wharton State Forest, where hikers climb the 79 steps of the fire tower at sunrise. The only drawback: The hike has become so popular that the DEP holds a lottery at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 to select participants.

First Day Hikes began in Massachusetts in 1992, and went nationwide in 2012 under an effort by the National Association of State Park Directors.

Ian Kindle, environmental education regional program coordinator for DCNR’s Bureau of State Parks, said the hikes in Pennsylvania started not long after that. But, he said, they have become increasingly popular since the pandemic, when many people took to the outdoors.

“I think people have really taken to the idea of making getting outdoors on the first day of the year a tradition.” Kindle said. “I know that some of the first ones I led at Delaware Canal State Park, we could have 100, 150, and upward of 200 people, which is a challenge to lead.”

Last New Year’s Day, 2,488 people — and 224 dogs — participated in Pennsylvania. They gathered for 74 hikes at 47 state parks and one state forest, accumulating 6,478 miles.

The two most attended hikes were at Beltzville State Park in Carbon County in the Poconos (175 people) and Tyler State Park in Bucks County (170 people).

This year, DCNR has organized 60 free guided hikes in 49 state parks and three forest districts, choosing to make the walks more focused.

Kindle said an “almost full moon” hike is set for Delaware Canal State Park in Yardley, Bucks County, at 4 p.m. He noted a two-mile hike around Militia Hill at Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County.

He said other hikes will take place at White Clay Creek Preserve and French Creek State Park, both in Chester County.

Here’s a list of all hikes in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, New Jersey is offering 30 hikes and one lighthouse climb.

The hikes include: walks at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. through historic Revolutionary-era Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest; a more rigorous six-mile hike at Brendan T. Byrne State Forest on the Cranberry Trail that includes Pinelands cedar swamps and Pakim Pond; and a two-mile hike at Washington Crossing State Park in Mercer County where you can learn about the famed feat by the Continental Army that routed the Hessians at Trenton.