Lord Stirling Park is a 925/950 acre [1] [2] park operated by the Somerset County Park Commission and located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and separated from the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge by the Passaic River. The park displays a diverse ecosystem in floodplains of the upper Passaic River and its contributors and contains swamps, fields, forests, brooks, marshes, and meadows.
Lord Stirling Park has two major parts. It is home to the Somerset County Environmental Education Center which contains 425 acres (1.72 km2) and provides educational services for visitors and contains a gift shop; it is also the starting point for a number of hiking trails for the exploration of the park. The office and education building was the first public building in the United States that was solar-heated when opened in 1977. [2] The original hot water solar heating system panels were replaced in 2013 with solar photovoltaic panels. TheLord Stirling Stable is an equestrian center with stables, an indoor arena, outdoor rings, and about 10 miles (16 km) of dedicated horseback trails in its 366-acre (1.48 km2) section of the Lord Stirling Park.
The area was prehistorically part of the Glacial Lake Passaic. For thousands of years it has been inhabited, and current archeological sites explore the artifacts of the Lenape civilization. The park is named after William Alexander, Lord Stirling, a general of the American Revolution whose estate included the area. His manor is in an unopened part of the park.
Scouting in New Jersey has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The second Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters was in North Brunswick, although it was referred to in BSA publications as being in neighboring New Brunswick.
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for a large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of New York City. During the 20th century, much of the Meadowlands area was urbanized, and it became known for being the site of large landfills and decades of environmental abuse. A variety of projects are underway to restore and conserve the remaining ecological resources in the Meadowlands.
The Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp, draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries.
Hatfield Swamp is a fresh water wetland area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, forming what might be considered the "second bank" of the Passaic River between Morris and Essex counties.
Natirar is an estate spanning 491 acres (1.99 km2) in Peapack-Gladstone, Far Hills and Bedminster, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Its name is a reverse spelling of Raritan. The complex was built between 1910 and 1912. In 2003 it was sold by the estate of Hassan II, late King of Morocco, to Somerset County, New Jersey, and is now administered by the Somerset County Park Commission. Approximately 90 acres (360,000 m2) of the estate have been leased to develop that portion of the estate into an exclusive hotel, spa, restaurant complex.
Ramapo Mountain State Forest is a 4,200-acre (17 km2) state forest in Bergen and Passaic Counties in New Jersey. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of nature, provide for orderly development, and manage solid waste activities in the New Jersey Meadowlands District. The Commission operated as an independent state agency between 1969 and 2015, loosely affiliated with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. NJMC was merged with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority through legislative action.
The Six Mile Run Reservoir Site, part of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, is located in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is adjacent to the Delaware and Raritan Canal. It covers 3,037 acres (12.29 km2). The reservoir plan was to flood the Six Mile Run watershed. The Six Mile Run is a tributary of the Millstone River that, with its tributaries, drains a large area in central Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey and western portions of North Brunswick and South Brunswick Townships in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It derives its name, along with other streams, from the distance early surveyors estimated it was from the point where the historic King's Highway left the Raritan River at New Brunswick to the point the roadway crossed the stream. The estimates were not very accurate but the stream names have remained in use ever since.
The Skylands Region is a region of New Jersey located in the northern and central parts of the state. It is one of six tourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism; the others are Gateway Region, Greater Atlantic City Region, the Southern Shore Region, the Delaware River Region, and the Shore Region.
The Sourland Mountain Preserve is located on Sourland Mountain, in the Sourlands region of New Jersey. It is within Hillsborough Township and Montgomery Township of Somerset County. The largest donation of land was made by Norma Gilbert Farr, trustee of the Linus R. Gilbert Foundation. The Farr family has donated over 3,000 acres to the Sourland Mountain Preserve and the Somerset County Parks Commission.
The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System.
The Lenape Trail is a trail through Essex County, connecting many county parks and reservations, wooded spaces, and historical sites. It begins in Newark, New Jersey and ends in Millburn, New Jersey. It was established in 1982. It is the fifth longest trail in the state behind the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state and the Batona Trail. The Lenape trail traverses Newark and its suburbs, as well as the Watchung Mountains and Passaic Meadows. Because of the steepness of the Watchung Mountains and the flood-prone nature of the Passaic Meadows, the former basin of Glacial Lake Passaic, these areas have remained much less developed than the rest of the northeastern part of the state. This trail therefore offers hikers an opportunity to see cultural and historical sites of an urban trail, as well as large natural and undeveloped areas. The trail's proximity to New York City and the various ridges it traverses, including Forest Hill, Orange Mountain, and Second Watchung Mountain, offer many views of the skyline. The Lenape Trail forms a segment of the Liberty-Water Gap Trail and incorporates the West Essex Trail, the Lenape Trail's only rail-to-trail section. The Lenape Trail also connects with Morris County's Patriots Path trail system on its western terminus.
Teatown Lake Reservation is a nonprofit nature preserve and environmental education center in Westchester County, New York, U.S., located in the towns of Ossining, Yorktown, Cortlandt, and New Castle. The reservation includes an 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) nature preserve and education center, visited annually by around 25,000 people.
Great Piece Meadows is a 7,100-acre (29 km2) fresh water swamp located in the towns of Lincoln Park, Montville, and Fairfield in New Jersey. The wooded swamp is mostly inside the bow of the Passaic River which floods during the year from heavy rain or heavy snow melt.
The William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge (WTDWR) is an 814-acre (3.29 km2) wildlife refuge straddling the New Springville and Travis sections of Staten Island. The park was named in honor of Staten Island native William T. Davis, a renowned naturalist and entomologist who along with the Audubon Society started the refuge with an original acquisition of 52 acres (210,000 m2). Additional acreage was acquired in increments and the park is today 814 acres (3.29 km2). Beginning in 2010, the adjacent 223-acre (0.90 km2) North Park section of Freshkills Park has undergone preparation to serve as an expansion of the wildlife refuge.
Wildwood Park is a public park and nature sanctuary in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The 229 acre park is known for its 90-acre shallow lake with over 6 miles of trails and mile-long boardwalk over the wetlands. The park is located within the city limits of Harrisburg; however, it is administered and maintained by the Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Department. Wildwood Park runs in line with Paxton Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, on the northern side of Harrisburg and adjacent to the main campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. Paxton Creek feeds into the lake, which comprises 60% of the Park. A section of the old Pennsylvania Canal runs parallel to the western trail. The remainder of the park is mixed deciduous forest, and an artificial meadow overlooks the eastern side of the lake. Wildwood Park is also part of the Capital Area Greenbelt.
The Dismal Swamp is a marshy area in Middlesex County in central New Jersey. The marshes border the towns of Edison, South Plainfield, and Metuchen.
Fresh Kills is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island. It is the site of the Fresh Kills Landfill, formerly New York City's principal landfill.
Passaic River Parkway, often called Passaic River Park, is a linear park along the banks of the Passaic River in Union County, New Jersey. It is one of the three "emerald necklaces" in the Union County Park System, the others being Rahway River Parkway and Elizabeth River Parkway.
East County Park is a public park in Warren, Somerset County, New Jersey. It is operated by the Somerset County Park Commission.