Charlestown Road, Hampton, NJ
Phone: (973) 383-0918
www.njfishandwildlife.org/wmas.htm
NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Exit parking area and turn Left on Van Syckels Road. There are several parking areas for the WMA along Van Syckels Road. For access to the main parking area, proceed 1.9 miles and turn Left at the stop sign onto Charlestown Road. Look for the parking area 0.6 miles down the road on the Left. Alternative parking is available at Polktown Road. Exit Spruce Run parking area and turn Right on Van Syckels Road. Proceed 0.4 miles and turn Left onto Polktown Road. After 0.6 miles turn Left into parking area. Map
Open daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. In addition to hunting, this WMA includes a shooting range and dog training area. Please refer to the website above for rules governing these uses and be sure to take proper precautions during hunting seasons. Parking areas can become muddy during wet weather.
To reach Black Brook, hike down from the Polktown parking area; at the bottom of the hill, turn Right, off of the Highlands Trail. Or, from the main parking area (not the gravel pull-offs or the dog training area) on Van Syckels Road, travel through the fields, following the blue Highlands Trail markers, to the bottom of the hill. Instead of following the Highlands Trail up the hill, follow the unmarked trail to the Left to see the brook.
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| Wild Turkeys | John Parke |
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| | From the parking area, walk past overgrown fields full of multiflora rose to discover a beautiful oak-beech-hickory forest, the picturesque Black Brook edged with hemlocks and views of Spruce Run Reservoir. This change of habitat from field to shrub/scrub to upland forests gives ample opportunities to discover a broad variety of wildlife. Clinton WMA is contiguous with Spruce Run Recreation Area, allowing for the continuous expanse of habitat necessary for many wildlife species. A section of the Highlands Trail traverses the WMA; it is marked by teal-colored, diamond-shaped blazes.
walking along the trail by Black Brook. There are beautiful hemlocks and towering tulip trees in this secluded valley, where moss covers the trail and big boulders dot the landscape.
The bare-branched winter landscape at the top of the hill offers a view of the Spruce Run Reservoir. Either hike up the hill or access from the Polktown Road parking area for the reservoir view. Look for Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk and soaring Black and Turkey Vultures. When unfrozen, the reservoir is host to mergansers, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Common Loon and other diving species. Saw-whet Owl is known to winter here. It takes extremely sharp eyes to find this petite owl hidden in brambly overgrowth. Sometimes whitewash,--the streaking of droppings on tree trunks or branches--is a giveaway.
April showers bring mud; some areas here are best traversed in old or waterproof footwear. There are numerous areas attractive to spring migrants. Field edges provide good habitat for orioles, vireos, Indigo Bunting and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Along the stream look for Louisiana Waterthrush and Common Yellowthroat. In the forest, keep eyes on treetops for freshly-plumaged songbirds such as Scarlet Tanager and Yellow-rumped Warbler, and listen for Ovenbird, Red-eyed Vireo and Eastern Wood Pewee.
A significant diversity of breeding birds can be found in this area. Sightings can vary from songbirds like the colorful Chestnut-sided Warbler singing the greeting “Pleased, pleased to meet-cha”, to the stealthy Cooper’s Hawk, ready to fill its crop with a songbird to feed hungry nestlings.
A significant diversity of breeding birds can be found in this area. Sightings can vary from songbirds like the colorful Chestnut-sided Warbler singing the greeting “Pleased, pleased to meet-cha”, to the stealthy Cooper’s Hawk, ready to fill its crop with a songbird to feed hungry nestlings.
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