To the Editor:

I attended the Princeton Council meeting on Monday, February 8 and was surprised to hear one Council member describe Princeton’s preserved open space as underutilized and hard to get to, with under maintained trails.

As someone who walks our open space every day and the author of Walk the Trails In and Around Princeton, which has sold over 4,000 copies to date, I have a completely different perspective. I can attest to the fact that many residents use our local trails frequently. Information on trail routes and parking access is widely available, perhaps the most comprehensive online resource is www.njtrails.org.

We are fortunate to have organizations like Friends of Princeton Open Space and D&R Greenway Land Trust in our town, and through the efforts of their staff and many volunteers, most of Princeton’s trails are well maintained and clearly marked. The 8.5 miles of trails in the Mountain Lakes Open Space Area, called by some Princeton’s central park, are a wonderful example. In addition, Kurt Tazelaar, Steve Hiltner, and Friends of Herrontown Woods have worked incredibly hard in recent years to reclaim and mark trails in Herrontown Woods and Autumn Hill Reservation, along Princeton’s eastern ridge.

If you are a resident who has not yet explored the trails in Princeton, I encourage you to take a walk today. My favorite winter walk is around the lake in the Billy Johnson Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve. Park in the lot off Mountain Road and follow the driveway to Mountain Lakes House then make the loop around the lake and back to the drive. Another great way to access this walk is to park in the lot at Farmview Fields, cross over The Great Road and take the boardwalk across Coventry Farm to access the loop around the lake.

Sophie Glovier

Drakes Corner Road