Trenton: Trenton Walks Stacy Park

A year ago, Trenton Walks led us to Stacy Park. It was my first visit to the Shaky Bridge, a tiny wooden suspension bridge made by the John A. Roebling, a Trenton resident who designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge, along with several other iconic suspension bridges using Roebling Steel. I had heard of the bridge, but had no idea how to reach that stretch of park located between Route 29 and the Delaware River. I've since run across the bridge with Downtown Fit.

Today's tour was led by Tim Brill. It was Trenton Walks' 81st walk since June 2024. They have had over 1,200 participants, and have collectively walked more than 2,100 miles, or the distance from Trenton to a small town in Nevada.

Stacy Park is located in the Island section of Trenton, a part of town I had heard of, but had never driven to before. The last time we walked to the park, we took a longer walk starting in Cadwalder Park. Today's walk was only one mile each way, though it felt longer as we meandered through the 33-acre Stacy Park, which is a remnant of the original park.

In 1910 the park was created as a joint venture between the State of New Jersey and Trenton. It used to connect to the New Jersey State House on State Street, but much of that accessibility was lost when Route 29 came through. 

Tim highlighted the three upcoming walks:

The pollinator walk on Friday, September 18 at 4:30 in Cadwalder Park. The October 6 walk along the Scudders Falls Bridge to be led by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). And on October 24, the Tour de Towpath. He also encouraged people to participate in the September 26 LHT's (Lawrence Hopewell Trail) Full Moon Bike Ride and Walk (always a favorite of Don) and the October 2 17.76 mile bike ride and walks taking place farther away in Philadelphia.

As we introduced ourselves one man added the sunsets are lovely in this park. I'll have to check that out sometime.

The walk was simpler than usual. We began and ended at the end with the pond. As we gathered to say good-bye, Tim told us about the time someone brought an alligator to the pond. People were afraid to walk their dogs in the area. It sounds like it started as a pet that grew too big for the owner. Animal control got involved and captured the alligator to rescue him.

As with most tall tales, the story started with "about 35 years ago" (news sources said 2009, or 17 years ago), it grew to "five feet" (this matches the news of the time or not), and it survived the winter (it was rescued in September, about two weeks after its first sighting). Once captured, it was offered to local zoos. No idea where it ended up, but no pets or humans were harmed. The whale tale is far more fun than reality.