LANDING, NJ (Morris County) — The twelfth annual ‘Lake Loop’ bike, hike, or paddle challenge to benefit the Lake Hopatcong Foundation will be held on Sunday, Oct. 6 at Hopatcong State Park.
The event, hosted by the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, along with partners Cycle Craft, Live the Lake NJ, and Ramsey Outdoor, celebrates New Jersey’s largest lake as a recreational resource and raises funds to help keep it clean and healthy.
Participants can choose to bike, hike, or paddle, with all activities starting and ending at Hopatcong State Park. Cyclists can choose from a 62-, 40-, or 20-mile ride along roads around and north of the lake. Paddlers will enjoy a 2.5-mile course out to Bertrand Island, around King Cove and back. And, new for 2024, the Lake Loop’s traditional 5K trail run has been replaced with an educational hike, just under 2 miles long, with interactive stations that feature natural and historical aspects of the lake. A shorter, stroller-friendly route is also available.
“This is my first year coordinating the Lake Loop alongside my colleagues at the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, and I am impressed and inspired by what we are able to offer through this event,” said Kari Constantine, the Foundation’s event coordinator, “We are excited to give our community – with support from our sponsors and volunteers – the opportunity to get active, have fun, and raise funds to support a vibrant and healthy Lake Hopatcong!”
Registration is $50 for cyclists and paddlers and $35 for hikers. Children ages 6-16 are only $10 and kids 5 and under are free. Included with registration, while they last, are a T-shirt for adults and a patch for kids, refreshments, and a lunch of sandwiches and soups.
Lake Hopatcong Foundation Development Director Caitlin Doran said, “The Lake Loop is a unique event because, in addition to helping us continue our environmental, education, community, and advocacy programs, it also celebrates our lake as an important recreational resource, where people come from all over the state to hike, to bike, to paddle, and more!”
All pre-registrants will also be entered in a drawing for four passes to FLG X New Jersey’s Adventure Course in Mount Arlington, just for signing up. Not a requirement of participating, but for those who go the “extra mile” and fundraise additional dollars for the cause through an automatically generated fundraising page, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation is offering prizes for the top fundraising individual and team and will be providing a free seat aboard a 2025 ecocruise, for every $100 an individual raises.
For more information, to donate, or to register as an individual or team, visit lakeloop.org.
