Day Trip Ideas for the Highlands of New Jersey
New Information for School Groups and More!
An exciting new year of 2011 Programs For School Trips at Winakung, the re-created Lenape Village at Waterloo Village. Online registration is now open for the new programs available. To review the programs click here to download a pdf.
Experience wildlife viewing on one of the Skylands Birding and Wildlife trails. For details or to order a brochure of the trails visit www.njwildlifetrails.org and click on Skylands. For some great tips and suggestions on getting your children into bird-watching click here.
Visit the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary. Located in Bernardsville, Basking Ridge, and Harding Township, NJ the Sanctuary is home to more than 60 species of nesting birds, and over 175 species have been sighted at the Sanctuary.
Lakota Wolf Preserve, Columbia is one a one of a kind attraction. Watch and listen to packs of Tundra, Timber, and Arctic wolves. Bobcats and foxes also can be viewed at the reserve.
Spend the day at Camp Musky, an educational and fun day camp for kids ages 5 – 12 years old, offered by the Muscanetcong Watershed Association. The camp offers an outdoor learning experience and hands-on, river-based programs.
Visit a sheep farm – Valley Shepherd Creamery – and take a cheese making class or a tour of the state of the art milking parlour.
Have your school group or youth group build a catapult and participate in The Last Fling Pumpkin Sling. Or plan on coming out to cheer on your favorite team. This event is a fun-raiser for the Highlands Tourism Partnership and proceeds will be used to promote our region of New Jersey and support our communities. Look for announcements on the event location for the 2011 Sling.
Visit the Jim and Mary Lee Morris Canal Museum in Greenwich, near Phillipsburg. This is the location of Plane 9 West, the longest inclined plane on the Morris Canal (about 1600 feet) with the highest change in elevation (100 feet). Walk through the tailrace and see the turbine in it’s original working position underground.
From Ringwood in Passaic County, hike the Ramapo Mountain State Forest Todd Trail to the overlook to Lake Todd and waterfalls. Or hike one of the other trails with vistas that include the New York City Skyline.
Flyfish the South Branch of the Raritan River at Ken Lockwood Gorge in Califon, Hunterdon County. Voted one of the most picturesque places in New Jersey and designated as a trout conservation area by NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. Don’t fish? Equally as beautiful for a hike.
Go on a hot air ballooning adventure in Harmony Township with Balloonatics & Aeronuts. Fly year round, weather permition or plan a flight during the Warren County Farmers’ Fair and Hot Air Balloon Festival. The Fair and Balloon Fest always beginning on the Sunday prior to August 1st (and on August 1st when it falls on a Sunday). The event runs through Saturday.
Visit one of the many events in High Bridge – from a soap box derby to pooch parade. You will be sure to have a blast in this town. While there visit the Solitude House Museum dedicated to the towns history of Iron Ore mining.
Visit The Ship Inn, the first Brew Pub Restaurant in New Jersey to brew beer since prohibition. Located in the quaint rivertown of Milford, Hunterdon County.
Got kids? Visit the Community Childrens’ Museum in downtown Dover and experience a true learning sensation with your young ones.
Visit the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms, in Parsippany- Troy Hills. One of the major contributors of the Arts and Crafts movement , this former home of Gustov Stickely also houses numerous furnishings designed and built by Stickley himself.
Explore, explore and explore some more the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Park for 40 miles along the Middle Delawaer River.
Walk the Paulinskill Valley Trail in Kittatiny Valley State Park. For most of its 27 miles, the trail passes through rural landscapes, northern deciduous forests and wetlands, and small towns in Warren and Sussex Counties. Six bridge crossings of the Paulinskill River provide scenic views of the river and some fishing access. For information on monthly hikes contact the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee, (908) 684-4820.
Go back in time in Historic Belvidere for Belvidere Victorian Days. Come join the festivities which include house tours, porch or garden parties, live entertainment, antique, craft and food vendors, antique/vintage car show, vintage fashion shows, Victorian era demonstrations, a picnic basket auction and much more.
Hike the trails at Jockey Hollow and visit the huts were Washington’s army was encamped for two winters during the Revolutionary War. Watch a 10 minute video to show what life was like for the soldiers.
There is plenty of bird watching opportunities from Sussex County down to Cape May – along the Atlantic Flyway which follows the Atlantic coast of North American and the Appalachian Trail.
Pequest Fish Hatchery fishing day with kids at the annual Pequest Open House
and Fishing Flea Market, held each spring.
Visit the Frelinghuysen Arboretum – New Jersey's largest horticultural park – owned and operated by the Morris County Park Commission. You will find blooms, adult and children classes and events in any season at this arboretum.
Catch the view from High Point Monument at High Point State Park. At 1,803 feet above sea level the view is a panorama of rich farmland and forest, hills and valleys and the Delaware River.
The terrain of Wawayanda State Park appeals to all hikers, campers, swimmers and boaters. Lake Wawayanda offers a restful, scenic experience for canoeists, boaters and fisherman. For those looking for a more rigorous experience, steep mountains challenge the most serious of hikers. A twenty-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail runs through the park and views from the top of Wawayanda Mountain are sensational.
View bald eagles nesting at Merrill Creek on top of the mountain in Washington, Warren County.
Listen to and see the wolves howling at Lakota Wolf Preserve in Knowlton Township, Warren County.
Get away to Crystal Springs Grand Cascades Lodge, a luxurious New Jersey hotel near New York, offering 250 Adirondack-style guest rooms and suites, with gourmet kitchens, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, large balconies, and stunning views spanning three states.
Cut your own Christmas Tree at Wyckoffs Tree Farm, White Township, Warren County.
Go Apple Picking at Mackey’s Orchard, White Township, Warren County.
Take a class at Well Sweep on wreath making, organic gardening or soap making.
What can be finer than wine tasting on the Warren County Wine Trail.
Join in a revolutionary weekend in Morristown – Revolutionary Times Weekend – a three-day event beginning Friday that includes re-enactments of Colonial life and other events related to the American Revolution.
Wander amid the elegance of formal gardens, or along gentle paths winding through the woods of the Skylands Botanical Garden.
more coming soon...
