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Chimney Rock Hawk Watch
Washington Valley Park, end of Miller Lane, off Vosseller Avenue, Bridgewater
Chris Aquila, 908- 429-7703; NJ Audubon Society, 908-766-5787
For more information on Chimney Rock hawk watching, call the Somerset County Park Commission Rangers at 908-369-1458 or 908-766-2489 or
Dave Dendler, 908-369-1458 ext. 422
From August through November, thousands of hawk watchers flock to Washington Valley Park to watch thousands of birds flying overhead; these include ospreys, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles. The New Jersey Audubon Society sponsors several hawk watches a year to help novice birdwatchers find and identify birds.
Cross Estate Gardens
Old Jockey Hollow Road (Tempe Wick Road to Leddell to Old Jockey Hollow), Bernardsville
973-376-0348
info@crossestategardens.org
Open dawn to dusk
Free
The gardens are located on the Cross Estate, site of the New Jersey Brigade Unit of Morristown National Historical Park, on Old Jockey Hollow Road in Bernardsville, NJ. The early twentieth-century landscape of the Cross Estate, characteristic of the Arts and Crafts period, includes a two-level walled formal perennial garden, a wisteria-covered pergola, a mountain laurel allee, and a garden of native plants. Large specimen trees such as silver maple and sequoia can be found on the grounds of the Cross Estate. A self-guided walk provides visitors with the opportunity to view historic trees and learn about their importance to Native Americans and colonists.
The National Park Service purchased the Cross Estate in 1975, allowing the Morristown National Historical Park to join the isolated New Jersey Brigade area with the main encampment area in Jockey Hollow. Today the grounds provide hiking trails and formal gardens for the public's enjoyment. The buildings on the property serve as office and storage space for the park. The gardens are maintained by the NJ Historical Garden Foundation, a nonprofit specifically established to provide volunteers. Volunteers are always welcome for our workdays, every Wednesday from 9-12.
The gardens are located on the Cross Estate, site of the New Jersey Brigade Unit of Morristown National Historical Park, and are open from dawn to dusk; parking is free, and there are no entry fees.
Mrs. W. Redmond Cross, with the help of local landscape architect Clarence Fowler, began the gardens at the Cross Estate in 1930. The National Park Service purchased the Cross Estate in 1975. Acquisition of the property allowed Morristown National Historical Park to join the isolated New Jersey Brigade area to the main encampment area in Jockey Hollow. Today the grounds provide hiking trails and formal gardens for the enjoyment of the public. The buildings on the property serve as office and storage space for the park.
Environmental Education Center at Lord Stirling Park
190 Lord Stirling Road, off County Route 657, Basking Ridge
908-766-2489
Open 9-5 daily, except holidays.
The Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center is located in Lord Stirling Park in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township. The center is nestled within 525 acres of the western part of the Great Swamp Basin of the Passaic River. The Environmental Education Center consists of an 18,000-square-foot building, as well as 8½ miles of walking trails and natural lands. There are two wildlife observations blinds, two observation towers, a Special Use Trail featuring nonnative plants, a bookstore, a library, and an exhibit area. Lectures, concerts, and special events are offered in the auditorium. The trails are open every day from dawn until dusk, except in unsafe weather conditions.
The variety of habitats -- floodplains, swamps, rivers, intermittent streams, marshes, meadows, and natural and man-made ponds, fields and forests -- provide homes for diverse plant and animal populations in this environmentally sensitive park. All are in walking distance of the education center.
The area was once home to Paleo-Indians, the Lenapes, and even Lord Stirling, a major general of the Continental Army. Recent history, in the 1960s, includes a landmark accomplishment when grassroots citizen and conservation groups rallied to prevent the precious wetlands from becoming an international airport. Consequently, 2600 acres of land were presented to the Department of the Interior to create the core of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the property adjacent to the SCPC’s Environmental Education Center.
Leonard J. Buck Garden
11 Layton Road, off County Route 512. Far Hills 908-234-2677
The Leonard J. Buck Garden is one of the premier rock gardens in the eastern United States. Begun in the 1930s, the garden consists of 14 acres of alpine and woodland gardens in a 33-acre wooded valley. Wildflowers, trees and flowering shrubs blossom in a rocky ravine. Named for Leonard J. Buck, who developed the garden as part of his estate, it was donated to the Somerset County Park Commission by Helen Buck in 1976. Open Mon-Fri 10-4; Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5. Closed on weekends and major holidays in Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar. Free admission, donation requested.
Little Brook Sanctuary
Steven Lane, Bernardsville
908-766-2489
This unique 100-acre sanctuary, located in Bernardsville, has a meandering brook that runs through the habitats of a wide variety of wildlife: birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and flowers. It remains undeveloped in order to further its role in acquiring and conserving, for future generations, lands that have unique or special value because of their natural beauty and ecological features. There is a small parking area adjacent to the rustic entrance.
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Lord Stirling Stable
256 South Maple Avenue (County Route 657), Basking Ridge
908-766-5955
Lord Stirling Stable offers a full complement of riding activities for riders of most ages and abilities. The stable office is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. In addition to the number above, riders may also call the activity hotline at 908 766-5955 * 32. All riders are required to wear an ASTM/SEI approved English riding hard hat with a permanently attached chin strap and hard smooth soled shoes or boots with a moderate and definite heel. Hats and boots may be rented for $1.51 each. Somerset County residents are required to show proof of residency. All riders must be at least 9 years of age and under 240 pounds. Free admission.
The Upper Raritan Watershed Association
Fairview Farm Wildlife Preserve
2121 Larger Cross Road, Bedminster, NJ
908-234-1852
Fairview Farm Wildlife Preserve is a 170-acre wildlife preserve owned by the Upper Raritan Watershed Association, a non-profit organization operated for the purpose of conservation and nature study. There are five miles of trails and the property is open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week for passive recreation. Our offices are open from 9-5, Mon-Fri. The driveway is one mile long.
The Upper Raritan Watershed is a natural geographic region defined by the drainage basin of the North Branch of the Raritan River and its tributaries. This 194-square-mile area contains 23 municipalities within Somerset, Hunterdon, and Morris counties. The watershed provides clean drinking water for millions of New Jersey residents and offers areas of extraordinary natural beauty, wildlife habitat, agriculture, and notable historic and cultural resources. Routes 202/206 North, Bedminster. Left on Pottersville Road. Go 0.8 mile and turn left on Larger Cross Road. Go 1/2 mile to URWA’s stone pillars on the right.
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