Goat Hill Overlook – NJ

Location: Lambertville, NJ

Trail Parking: 20 George Washington Rd, Lambertville, NJ 08530

My recent visit to Goat Hill Overlook in October 2022, makes it my third. My first visit was on a wintry evening during the COVID lockdown. It was not terribly unpleasant when I started the hike but got really cold by sunset. I had no plans to stay late but the sunset was beyond my expectations.

The late evening sunlight that glowed on the trees, now totally denuded, seemed to give them their autumnal look again. My only gripe, the river runs north-south, so the sun will never set over the bridges that span the Delaware river, connecting the towns of Lambertville in New Jersey and New Hope in Pennsylvania. That would have been a gorgeous sight to behold.

NOTE: There are no public restrooms either on the trailhead parking spot or at the top. Parking and access to the overlook are both free. Parking space is limited, but crowd is very sparse.

The Goat Hill overlook is the highlight of the trail and is the most oft visited location. It provides a fantastic view of the Delaware River, the towns of Lambertville in NJ and New Hope PA on either banks, and the two bridges that span the Delaware river connecting them.

There used to be picnic tables and a sign that read Goat Hill Overlook. The picnic tables have vanished and the sign has shrunk to just say “Overlook”.

And there is a fourth unofficial lookout over a big red rock, aka George Washington’s Rock. No points for guessing. GW used this for his reconnaissance missions to monitor British movement along the Delaware river. Apparently the British general Cornwallis also used the same location to monitor the movement of the Patriots. I am not sure how that could have worked. Did GW and Cornwallis schedule and book in advance to avoid bumping into each other. That would have been awkward. General Cornwallis is someone very familiar to us Indians that have read Indian History in high school. It is the same guy that was posted in India as East India Company’s representative as Governor General of India. He replaced Warren Hastings after Hastings was impeached for corruption. Small world.

I was introduced to the GW rock by a fellow hiker that I was chatting with at the overlook. I was telling her my gripe about the sunset. She thought for a minute and asked me if I knew about the GW rock. She was kind enough to walk me to the edge of the trail.

Strangely, we were both wary about each other. She was much younger, with funky sunglasses and armed with just an iPhone but I was still nervous. Only a few days ago, I had read about a hiker couple that got killed by a hitchhiking young girl and her partner in Florida. Signs that we are now living in a very difficult world? Anyways, let’s get back on the trail and to the rock…

The GW rock was smooth, uneven and thin at portions making climbing a difficult task. Getting to the edge of the rock, standing up may give you the most ideal view of the dam and beyond, but the risk far outweighs stupid selfie and bragging rights.

People generally begin to lose their sense of balance at around of 40. I know for a fact that this is true. I had been an avid climber and done my share of “cool” things when I was in my teens. I don’t think I have acrophobia now, but I am at a tender age when heights start to make one nervous. I am definitely past my “balance” prime which makes me wonder if I should fast track some of those extreme hike things on my bucket list. Either the rock was much wider and walkable back then or GW had outstanding balance.

By the way, I did manage to slither on the rock to get this shot below. A video of my attempt taking this picture, I am pretty sure, will be an AFV candidate.

Did you Know? Before it became a scenic preserve administered by the Washington Crossing State Park, it was once owned by Boy Scouts. Constructural Dynamics Inc. of Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania bought the land from the Boy Scouts to first conduct mining operations and later to build residential properties overlooking the Delaware River. Both bad ideas, IMHO. Thankfully, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres program purchased it from Constructural Dynamics for $4.5 million.

Other nearly locations worth checking out:

• Washington Crossing State Park
• Lockatong High Falls

By the way, if you ever plan to make a trip to Goat Hill and take the Brunswick Pike look for the In Ox Sculpture. Visit my post on New Jersey Bulls for more information about this and the other bulls of NJ.