The Borough of Oradell‘s Lotus Woods Nature Walk located in densely populated Bergen County NJ is a 10 acre wetland preserve featuring a woodland trail next to the Van Saun Mill Brook.
Lotus Woods Nature Walk
The woods were preserved by the Mayor and Council of Oradell in the early nineties. The trail has been maintained by the Oradell Boy Scouts since 1991. The boy scouts also help remove invasive plants and replace them with native plants. The Lotus Notes Nature Walk is a forest island completely surrounded by dense residential development. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at the photo below.
The Van Saun Mill Brook, a tributary of the Hackensack River, flows through the center of the woods. The Van Saun Mill Brook is monitored by the Bergen County Environmental Council further south of the preserve in nearby Van Saun Park three times a year to determine the quality of the water. The Lotus Woods help to protect the Van Saun Mill Brook from non-point source pollution.
Van Suan Mill Brook
Much of the preserve is dominated by typical wetland vegetation such as Sensitive Fern and Skunk Cabbage.
Sensitive Fern
The trail is level and is an easy pleasant walk next to a bubbling brook. The woods are a perfect way to observe nature at a slow pace. The main entrance to the preserve is on Amaryllis Avenue between Seminole Street and Summit Avenue in Oradell. It’s a nice slice of nature.
Welcome to the NJ Audubon’s Lorrimer Sanctuary! The property was bequeathed to the NJ Audubon Society by Ms. Lucine Lorrimer in 1956. The 14 acre preserve features forest and field habitats, a butterfly garden and a visitor center with a gift shop and exhibits including live animals. The sanctuary features an excellent self guided trail through the Field, Butterfly and Woodland trails.
Outside a large window in the visitor center is a multitude of bird feeders. This Hairy Woodpecker was there the day I visited.
Hairy Woodpecker
Trails
Lorrimer Sanctuary Trail Guide
There are two main trails (in addition to a buttefly garden trail) which are mostly flat to be explored at the Lorrimer Sanctuary. Both trails travel in a loop fashion and make for very easy walking. Be sure to take your time and enjoy the forest!
Field Trail
The 1/6 of a mile field trail once wound through an actual field. Through succession, the trail now wounds through a young forest. Before the surrounding private property was developed, barn owls frequented the area. This box pictured below was built for barn owl habitat.
At 1/3 of a mile, the woodland trail is the longest trail and features both wetlands and upland habitat. The trail loops past secondary growth forest. A special attraction found in early spring on the woodland trail are the wildflowers such as Dutchman Breeches, Bloodroot and Spring Beauties.
Bloodroot
The past land usage of the Lorrimer Sanctuary includes an orchard, farmland and livestock pasture. Interpretive signage has been placed on both the Field and Woodland trails to describe the geology, flora and fauna of the Lorrimer Sanctuary.
Woodland Trail Interpretive Signage
The sanctuary is worth going to. Be sure to visit the gift shop as all proceeds are used to help maintain the preserve. Click here for more information and the address.
Feel free to e-mail NJUrbanForest at NJUrbanForest@gmail.com with any comments, memories or suggestion! Thank you and have fun exploring!
The Ridgefield Nature center consists of 5.4 acres of deciduous wooded wetlands and upland.
Ridgefield Nature Center
The nature center is only open on Saturdays to the public from 8AM-Noon.
Ridgefield Nature Center Trail
The interpretive trail is wide and lined with old tree trunks. There are more than 25 educational signage covering everything from Pokeweed (as listed in the picture below) to Sassafras Trees.
One of the more unique trees found at Ridgefield Nature Center is the American Persimmon tree. The tree is thought to be growing here at its extreme northern limit. The tree is found generally in the south. The bark of the Persimmon tree resembles alligator skin.
The day I visited the nature center this gigantic old mushroom was found and was on display.
Mushroom
The forest is surrounded by dense residential development to the north, south and west of the property. To the east of the forest is the Ridgefield Community Garden.
Ridgefield Community Garden
The garden is open for local residents to plant veggies or establish a butterfly garden. Wolf Creek flows to the east of the gardens and includes an estimated .58 of an acre of wetlands. The creek is a tribute of Bellmans Creek, a major lower Hackensack River Tributary. Both the community garden and Ridgefield Nature Center were once owned by the Great Bear Company which used the property to distribute bottled water. The Borough of Ridgefield purchased the combined 12 acres of the community garden and Ridgefield Nature Center land in 1975.
The woods are open to the public on Saturdays from 8am to Noon. Group Tours can be made by appointment by calling 201-943-5215 x353. The community garden is accessible to the public at any time during the day. Click here for more information regarding the Ridgefield Nature Center. The nature center is maintained by members of the Ridgefield Environmental Commission.
Ridgefield Nature Center and Community Garden
Feel free to e-mail NJUrbanForest at NJUrbanForest@gmail.com with any comments, memories or suggestion! Thank you and have fun exploring!
Paramus Wetlands (location of Reid Park Nature Trail)
Welcome to Paramus’s Reid Park Interpretive Nature Trail!
The nature trail, created in 2004 by Boswell Engineering, meanders about .20 of a mile through part of an estimated 59 + acres of forested wetlands. The trail stretches from the Reid Park fields and playground area to Soldier Hill Road.
Most of the forest is under threat of development. Saveparamuswetlands is leading the fight to help preserve the whole forest. As of this writing there was a partial clear cut in November 2009 which the borough of Paramus has since halted.
Two footbridges and 3 boardwalks were placed over the more saturated soil on the trail. The boardwalks actually rise with the water level and were installed without heavy machinery.
Forested Wetlands Interpretive Signage
Interpretive signage describing the flora & fauna found in Reid Park has been placed throughout the entire length of the trail. Most of the signs are intentionally placed next to the items they describe.
Lichen and Moss Interpretive Signage
Lichen
Moss
Eastern Skunk Cabbage with interpretive signage
Others are more of a chance encounter. For example, moments after reading the below Red-Tail Hawk sign on my last visit, there was a screech from a Red-Tail Hawk soaring above.
Red-Tailed Hawk Interpretive Signage
Red-Tail Hawk (a bit on the blurry side)
Flora found along the Reid Park Nature Trail includes:
If you are into nature and live in Bergen County chances are you might have visited the Tenafly Nature Center and Lost Brook Preserve. But have you visited Tenafly’s 8 acre Churchill Nature Preserve?
Map of the Churchill Nature Preserve
The trail head (a blue blaze) starts as soon as you enter through the main entrance on Churchill Road.
This small nature preserve has a surprising amount of flora. It includes:
Red Oak
White Oak
Red Maple
White Ash
Hay Scented Fern
Spicebush
Black Birch
Many others
A tributary of the Overpeck Creek flows through the preserve.
There are two bridges and one stream crossing. Sounds like a major ordeal for only an 8 acre site! It makes for a cool walk. Or possibly wet if you miss your footing during the stream crossing. And if you get tired there are three benches scattered throughout the preserve to take a seat.
This little preserve is the perfect place to get a quick fix of nature when you are on the go.
Sometimes just finding a forest where you would not expect one is it’s own reward. Such is the case with Diamond Brook Park in Glen Rock.
Diamond Brook Park consists of an estimated 15 acres of remnant deciduous wooded wetlands. The park has Diamond Brook to its west, NJ Transit tracks to its east, Route 208 to its south and dense residential development to its north.
The park features three trails. Eagle Scouts help to maintain the trails. The red is .4 of a mile, yellow is .13 of a mile and blue is .21 of a mile. The yellow trail experiences seasonal flooding depending on the time of year you visit. The blue trail leads to an old railroad freight train turntable (used to rotate freight cars) which was once the largest turntable east of the Mississippi River. The freight turntable was used by the Erie Railroad company until a fire occurred in 1912. The land was not used again for 40 years except for displaced residents who inhabited the forest during the Great Depression. The land was sold to the town of Glen Rock in 1954 and was formally dedicated in 1959.
One of the cool things I found in this suburban forest was ground pine-something I have not yet seen outside the deep forest.
Ground Pine
Dense beds of skunk cabbage appear every spring. Black Bears, which love skunk cabbage, would have a feast. Speaking of bears, fauna that has been spotted in Diamond Brook Park include deer, red fox, woodchucks, chipmunks and raccoons.
Diamond Brook, a subsidiary of the Passaic River, flows on the western border of the park. The brook is spring fed with its headwaters located north of Glen Rock in Ridgewood. The brook follows a winding two mile course before its confluence with the Passaic River. Diamond Brook was once called Bass Brook due to the good fishing that was once found there. In the 1870′s, the Marinus Lumber Mill built a water wheel on the brook. When the mill was later torned down, the water wheel was buried beneath a street and is still there today.
Diamond Brook
Diamond Brook Park is located at the end of Doremus Avenue and West Main Street in Glen Rock. The park is part of Glen Rock’s Greenway. This cool little forest is a wonderful gem for the borough of Glen Rock.
The Oscar E. Olsen Park consists of the largest remaining open space in Bogota and should be considered it’s crown jewel.
Oscar E Olsen Park
It was built on former swampland adjacent to the Hackensack River. A lot of work has been done to this park since I last walked around it. The first thing that greeted me as soon as I got out of my car was this bald eagle flying over the Hackensack River.
Bald Eagle over Hackensack River
When I visited there was still a lot of snow. Even the infamous “bridge to nowhere” was covered. The bridge to nowhere is a raised boardwalk right next to the Hackensack River. A lot of people thought it was a waste of tax payer money when it was built.
It may lead to nowhere but you can see some cool views like the submarine USS Ling:
USS Ling with Bergen County Courthouse in background
Plus the Meadowlands Commission added some signs o’education on the bridge. And don’t worry-the signs themselves are not blurry, just this picture.
There is a pathway which extends from the bridge that encircles the park. It’s a pretty cool park to explore.
Directions:
From NYC: Go West over the George Washington Bridge; Route 4 west; get off at the exit for River Road just before the bridge over the Hackensack River. Head south on River Road. At the junction with West Main Street on the left, turn right. On the left is an entrance for the park.
Received an e-mail from Eric M which included a statement from McNerney regarding the recent “tree avalanche” and Vernal Pond issue in Borg’s Woods. Please see below.
FALLEN TREES — Dennis McNerney states that the County will not cut or touch the trees which fell during the March 13th storm. Presumably this means that major limbs and small fallen trees will be removed which are blocking the main trail which runs from Allen to Byrne Streets.
MOSQUITOS — McNerny stated that the County Parks Department will let the Bergen County Mosquito Control Commission continue their current practices regarding the water level and the mosquito issue at the vernal ponds.
This is not good news, but it is not unexpected. However, it should be noted that McNerney was called to other business and did not finish his statement. McNerney was copied on the e-mail. A new blog will be posted regarding this matter if a response is received.
I will let these pictures speak for themselves of the March 13th storm devastation in Hackensack’s Borg’s Woods.
Eric Martindale, who helped preserve the preserve stated in the Bergen Record on April 2, 2010 that “Trees blocking major trails should be cleared, but otherwise, fallen trees are characteristic of an old growth forest. “The trees aren’t blocking the trails. In addition, large fallen trees provide habitat niches for various types of wildlife.”
Hackensack Riverkeeper’s own Capt. Bill Sheehan stated in the April 2, 2010 Bergen Record that “Bugs and other small critters will take care of the trees in good time, and that’s how you replenish the soil of the forest,” Sheehan said. “Things die, they fall down, they biodegrade, and new things grow up. If a tree falls in the woods, it should probably stay there.”
“As far as the Blowout of trees is concerned, the fallen trees should simply be left in place. Except of course those that fell from the County’s land onto homeowner’s property. The event was a natural event, an act of God / act of nature. This is a nature preserve. This is something that would have happened if no humans existed on the planet. Just leave it be. Don’t cut them up into small logs, that would be unnatural. We don’t want anything unnatural in the woods. The purpose of a nature preserve is to experience and to learn about nature. As upsetting as it is, a blowout of trees is part of nature. And it is part of what an old-growth forest is about. Therefore it is part of what visitors should see.”
Most of the trees that fell were mature 200 year American Beech Trees. It appears most of the damage occurred in the southeast corner of the preserve.
