251 County Road 513, Glen Gardner, NJ
Phone: (908) 638-6969
www.njparksandforests.org
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
From I-78 West take exit 17 and merge onto Route 31 North. Turn Right at the second traffic light onto CR 513 North and follow signs for CR 513 North and Voorhees State Park. The entrance to the park is on the Left.
From I-78 East take exit 16. Cross I-78 and proceed through the traffic light. At the stop sign turn Left and merge onto Route 31 North. At the second traffic light on Route 31 North turn Right onto CR 513 and follow signs for CR513 North/Voorhees State Park through High Bridge. The entrance to the park is on the Left. Map
The New Jersey Astronomical Association Observatory houses a 26-inch Newtonian reflector telescope on-site. The public is invited to participate in nighttime programs at the observatory. For more information call 908-638-8500 or visit www.njaa.org/observatory.html.
This park lies within the 1,260-square mile-Highlands Region, which includes the oldest rock formations in New Jersey. Precambrian igneous rocks and a section of the Green Pond Outlier, a belt of Paleozoic age sedimentary rock, all can be found.
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| Immature Bald Eages Jousting | Kevin Karlson |
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| | One of the first properties to be preserved in Hunterdon County, the park is named for Foster McGowan Voorhees, a former New Jersey governor, who donated the first acreage in 1927. Several years later, during the Great Depression, a one-thousand man Civilian Conservation Corps camped here and transformed the property from farmland to woodland by planting trees and creating new roads, shelters, amenities and trails. The park offers a beautiful hike along a well-established trail system. Many wetland viewing areas are found throughout the park, from seeps and vernal pools to a streamside hike. A campground and picnic sites offer visitors a chance to extend their stay and investigate the park in greater detail.
While much of the park is an interior woodland experience, hike the Gold Trail for exposure to other habitats and search along the power line cut on the High Acres Trail for spring migrants such as Hooded Warbler.
The proximity of the park to Round Valley and Spruce Run Reservoirs significantly improves chances of seeing a Bald Eagle. Hike to the reservoir overlooks to scan for resident and wintering eagles foraging for food. Be mindful of movement and calls from thickets and shrubby areas; most likely it is visiting Dark-eyed Junco or White-throated Sparrow. Listen for the hammering sounds of Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers.
The distinctive “quacking” of wood frogs and the chorus of spring peepers herald the arrival of spring. Look for eggs in the woodland vernal pools, and then keep checking as the eggs turn to tadpoles and then to frogs, at which point they will leave their water sanctuary for land. Bird migration begins in earnest in mid-April; early arrivals such as Palm and Pine Warblers are a delight to see after the dark days of winter. They will be followed by Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Prairie, Blue-winged, Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Look for Louisiana Waterthrush along the stream and Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush and Veery in the woodlands.
By now songbirds have staked their claims and settled in to raise their young. Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Carolina and House Wrens, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow, Black-and-white and Hooded Warblers are all attending to the needs of their hungry offspring. Bald Eagle is a resident in this area. When walking along the trails look to the skies, scan the trees and listen for their call, a surprisingly high-pitched piping sound for such a large majestic bird.
Migration, migration, migration is the New Jersey birders’ mantra for this season. Early songbird migrants such as Yellow Warblers begin heading south in mid- to late-August, with peak warbler migration occurring about a month later in September. Look for large Broad-winged Hawk flights in mid-September as well, while flights of Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks and Bald Eagle occur in October and November.
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