My Hike Was Blocked (So I Found This Instead) | NJ250 Hike #9 | | New Jersey Hiking

I almost turned around and went home. Construction blocked my planned trail, a lone star tick climbed up my tripod, and my GPS map was useless — but what I found instead made the whole trip worth it. This is Hike #9 of my NJ250 Challenge: 25 New Jersey State Parks in 12 months. This episode takes me to the Forest Resource Education Center in Jackson, NJ — a working forestry site tucked inside Ocean County that most people drive right past. It's not your typical state park, and that's exactly what makes it interesting. Along the way I stumbled onto the Indian Oak of Toms River — a tree that first sprouted in 1772 and lived for over 200 years — a working seedling nursery that grows 300,000 trees a year for NJ reforestation, a sugar shack used for maple syrup demonstrations, a sawmill, a quiet creek that made the whole detour worth it, and a brand new sensory trail still under construction. Sometimes the best hike is the one that doesn't go according to plan. 📍 Location: Forest Resource Education Center, Jackson, NJ (Ocean County) 🥾 Trails: Sensory Trail + White Trail + Yellow Trail 📏 Distance: ~2.5 miles 🗺️ Series: NJ250 Challenge — 25 NJ State Parks in 12 Months --- 🧭 Follow every NJ250 hike on my interactive map: FireandTrails.com 🌄 Early access + behind-the-scenes trail photos:   / fireandtrails   --- 📌 WATCH THE FULL NJ250 SERIES: ▶ Hike #8 – My First Skoolie Camp of the Year | Parvin State Park:    • My First Skoolie Camp of the Year | Parvin...   --- #NJ250 #NewJerseyHiking #ForestResourceEducationCenter #JacksonNJ #OceanCountyNJ #NJStateParks #HikingNJ #SoloHiking #NJPineBarrens #SkoolieLife #OutdoorNJ #HikingVlog #NJNature #NewJerseyOutdoors #NJOutdoors #NatureWalk #HikingAdventures #StateParks #NJTrails #Reforestation forest resource education center, forest resource education center nj, jackson nj hiking, nj250, nj250 hike, new jersey hiking, pine barrens hiking, pine barrens nj, jackson new jersey, nj nature hike, forest education center, working forest, reforestation new jersey, new jersey pine barrens, forest service nursery, hiking new jersey, nj hiking trail, creek hike, nature walk nj, south jersey hiking, forest resource education center jackson nj, forest service nursery nj, pine barrens forest, new jersey forestry, nj forest service, conservation hike, reforestation seedlings, sensory trail nj, maple syrup demonstration nj, indian oak of toms river