The South Mountain Fairy Trail is a half-mile hiking path in the South Mountain Reservation in Millburn, New Jersey, named as such due to the many miniature "fairy houses" along the path. [1] [2] The trail is part of the mile-long Rahway Trail. [3]
The South Mountain Fairy Trail was started by New Jersey artist Therese Ojibway in 2011. [4] [5] Ojibway began building fairy houses for the South Mountain Reservation's Rahway Trail in hopes of creating a safe outdoor space for her young autistic son to be able to visit. After placing the initial structures on her own, the South Mountain Conservancy gave Ojibway official permission to continue the project. [6] Ojibway did so, creating around 30 fairy houses by 2015. [5]
Around 2016, visitors to the trail began leaving their own structures, some of which were "crude" or made of plastic. Ojibway, in response, erected a sign on one of the houses, declaring that "Fairies Like: Acorns, pine cones, shells, flowers and pretty stones. Not plastic". The Conservancy was also displeased with the new structures, feeling that it violated the "take nothing, leave nothing" approach to the outdoors which the Conservancy attempted to promote. They ultimately erected their own sign, asking visitors to only leave fairy houses made of natural materials. [5]
The trail attracted many visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, as an outdoor kid-friendly activity. The increase in visitors led to soil compaction and erosion on the path, and destruction of plant life along the path. [7]
Since 2022, the trail has been upkept by Julie Gould and Beth Kelly. [6] [8] In 2023, the trail hosted its first annual Fairy Day. [8]
The half-mile path is fairly flat, and is bordered with a rope fence to discourage hikers from trampling surrounding plant life. [3]
The approximately 80 fairy houses on the trail are made and repaired by volunteers. Trailkeepers encourage house creators to use natural materials that can decompose in the forest, and muted, natural colors. [6] Visitors are asked not to disturb the existing structures or to add their own. [3]
As of 2024, the South Mountain Conservancy has proposed a plan to improve the trail by adding benches and a covered pavilion. [8]
The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost 2,200 miles (3,540 km) between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy claims the Appalachian Trail to be the longest hiking-only trail in the world. More than three million people hike segments of the trail each year.
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South Mountain Reservation, covering between 2,047 and 2,112 acres, depending on the source, is a nature reserve on the Rahway River that is part of the Essex County Park System in northeastern New Jersey. It is located in central Essex County, New Jersey within portions of Maplewood, Millburn, and West Orange. It borders South Orange between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains.
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High Mountain Park Preserve is a protected area of the Preakness Range of the Watchung Mountains in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1993, it comprises 1,153 acres (5 km2) of woodlands and wetlands owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy.
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Mount Tremper, officially known as Tremper Mountain and originally called Timothyberg, is one of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It is located near the hamlet of Phoenicia, in the valley of Esopus Creek.
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The Rahway River Parkway is a greenway of parkland along the banks the main stem Rahway River and its tributaries in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Created in the 1920s, it was one of the inaugural projects of the newly-created Union County Parks Commission. It was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, sons of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Rahway River Greenway plan expands on the original design. Many of the crossings of the river are late 19th century or early 20th century bridges. The East Coast Greenway uses paths and roads along the parkway.
Lenape Park is a 450-acre wildlife reserve and park that is part of the Rahway River Parkway in Union County, New Jersey. The park is located in four towns: Westfield, Springfield, Kenilworth, and Cranford.
Fairy houses are small outdoor structures intended to look like residences for fairies. Creators often choose natural, foraged materials to build and decorate their houses, allowing the creations to decompose back into the ground where they are placed.