August 6 - 13

The sultry days of mid to late summer are long and lazy. Busy, demanding days are not far ahead; so spend some quality time finding out the best ways to do nothing but relax.

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Happy Feet

If you can't sit still, the confluence of water and earth at the Delaware Water Gap promises hikers a bounty of blissful steps through exquisite terrain. The famous notch that characterizes Warren County's western skyline is where the Kittatinny Mountains have given way to eons of gentle persuasion by the Delaware River, creating one of the most majestic of New Jersey's natural features between Mount Tammany and Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania.

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On The Banks Of The Wild Six

When the Jersey sky hangs white in summer haze, head to the woods at Six Mile Run in Franklin Township, Somerset County. The 3,037-acre property takes off from the Millstone River and winds its way through forest, a myriad of trails and habitats alongside this quiet stream are made for easy—long or short—relaxing walks.

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Three Hundred Years of Solitude

The Solitude House stands as a testament to our collective history as a new nation, as well as testament to all those who persevered in the face of overwhelming odds to succeed.

The sign, “Settled in 1700”, which welcomes those who pass through High Bridge, implies a long abiding heritage: a story of the longest continually operating iron and steel company in United States and the workers who helped shape our country's history and destiny. Read about the Union Forge and walk the Taylor Steelworkers Historic Greenway...

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Lunkers Alive!

Many of our rivers and streams, seasonally stocked with trout, also support year-round resident populations of smallmouth bass. The Paulinskill, Flatbrook Wallkill, Pequest, Musconetcong, and others are all destinations for smallmouth fishers. Fly fishing for bass in the summer is a great way to get on the water when it gets too hot for trout. Watching a bass explode on your popper is one of the most exhilarating feelings in freshwater fly fishing.

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Easy Living

July 30 - August 5

Spread your wings and reach for the Skylands this and every week this summer. Don't wait; the days are racing away!

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Skylands By Saddle

On the Paulins Kill Valley Trail

In a land crisscrossed by interstates, punctuated with traffic lights, and clogged with cars, it’s easy to overlook how much northwestern New Jersey territory you can still cover on a horse. Through warm summer months and into fall, you can explore rivers, streams, fields, and hills and enjoy remote views and vistas—all from the saddle. Across the Skylands region, a horse can take you where no car can—faster and sometimes farther afield than your own two feet. Exercise? Certainly. But also the pleasure of working with a 1,000-pound companion who can handle the footwork. Saddle up!

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Straight and Narrow

Trestle bridge over Ken Lockwood Gorge

Rail trails are a legacy of some of the many railroads that once thrived in northwestern New Jersey in an era when trains had names, each with its own character and personality. You don't need a whole lot of hiking know-how or aerobic virility to enjoy a rail trail.
While Hunterdon County's system of rails was not as intricate as farther north, where mining was more prevalent, the county was home to many spur lines used to transport passengers and products to charming villages and hamlets. Exercise for the body and mind!

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Watershed Moments

The Pequest flows under the bridge to Buttzville in quieter times

Geologic record helps understand the human history and impacts of settlement and lifestyles in each of our watersheds, which take on regional characteristics of their own, enhanced by a heaping portion of openly accessible recreation facilities.
The Pequest River begins just south of Newton and flows thirty-two miles to Belvidere where it empties into the Delaware River. In Warren County, it passes near Allamuchy State Park, Jenny Jump State Forest, Pequest Wildlife Management Area, and the Beaver Brook Wildlife Management Area. The watershed includes a wealth of remnants from Warren County’s agricultural and industrial heritage. Follow the river!

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Midnight Moonlight

Craters of the moon, photographed from 238,855 miles away at the UACNJ by Wolfgang Damm, NWJAA

What better way to cool off after a hot summer day than to gaze at the moon and stars? The United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey (UACNJ) facilities in Jenny Jump State Forest, near Hope in Warren County, are 1,100 feet above sea level, one of the few dark sky locations left in the state. On Saturday evenings the facility offers series of program presentations. Audience size is limited and reservations are advisable.
And at Voorhees State Park in Glen Gardner, the New Jersey Astronomical Association has installed a 26-inch Newtonian reflector telescope, one of the largest privately owned telescopes in New Jersey. There's Saturday night stargazing from 8:30-10pm and Sunday afternoon solar viewing, 2-5pm.

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Planet Jersey

The tulip tree silkmoth boasts a wingspan up to 4 1/4 inches. The females lay rows of eggs on tulip trees. Adults do not eat and live only a week or so.

Who doesn’t enjoy looking at a beautiful butterfly as it flutters by and lands on a pretty flower? Maybe you have a butterfly garden that allows you the pleasure of sneaking in for a closer look at these fragile creatures all day long. But what if you could double your viewing pleasure? That’s right, day and night!

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Easy Living

July 15 - 22

Wet and Wild

The Pequannock Watershed, which weaves through and around Newfoundland and West Milford, has been called one of the New Jersey’s last wilderness areas. There are miles of trails up, down, and around a mini-range of mountains, through woods, past rocky streams, still lakes and reservoirs, with glimpses of the ruins of a stone castle and abandoned iron mines, all framed by dramatic shears, sliced by the Wisconsin Glacier ages ago. Get familiar this summer!

Long lazy days of summer seem like they'll last forever. Don't be fooled, make a splash while you can! Stay tuned to our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a scenic drive! For the more aerobically inclined, the Outdoor Map shows the way to go, or choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website. Choose your own adventure!

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Ye Olde Lake

A summer destination for generations past, Lake Hopatcong is central to the New Jersey Skylands, not only geographically, but also to the many levels and facets of the region's character. Its name derived from the language of the people who first inhabited these fertile grounds along the Minisink Trail, Hopatcong's waters reflect Northwest New Jersey's prolific history of transportation, industry and recreation.

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Path to Discovery

Strolling along the Paulins Kill Valley Trail is a fine way to spend a summer day. With access points and parking spaces in many places along this 27-mile soft dirt-cinder path, you can stroll at leisure or pick up the pace as you wish. You can also explore off trail and discover hidden gems of nature, history and the early culture of coal, commerce and railroads. Managed by Kittatinny Valley State Park, the trail is flat, easy and comfortable for walkers, bicyclists, dog-sledders and horse-back riders.

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The Other Asbury

As the first American bishop, Francis Asbury set the cornerstone for the United Methodist Church in 1796.

The Musconetcong River runs forty-two miles from Lake Hopatcong to the Delaware River. But in that brief distance, the river and its valley describe, for better or worse, the evolution of modern American culture in the advance of agriculture, transportation and industry. Exploration of the valley is never short on delightful surprises, and deserves to be on your summer itinerary. The historic village of Asbury is a good place to begin.

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Summer Stage

The Wedding Singer at Centenary University in Hackettstown on Saturday.

Based on the hit film starring Adam Sandler, The Wedding Singer holds its final performances at Centenary Stage Company's Summerfest this week (July 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). The play transports audiences back to the outrageous world of the 1980s, where Robbie Hart is the life of every party – until his own fiancée leaves him at the altar.
Next Saturday, July 25, the most accurate tribute to the iconic Led Zeppelin comes to Hackettstown as Four Sticks plays through all the hits the way Jimmy and the boys did - with only four members playing multiple instruments.
Then ,running July 30 - August 9, Broadway veteran John Leone, an original cast member of Jersey Boys, will lead the cast of Centenary Stage Company's production of Maltby & Shire's Closer Than Ever, the finale of the theater's 2026 Summerfest season.
Summerfest performances take place at Centenary University's Lackland Center, 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown. Call 908/979-0900 or click for tickets.

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Easy Living

July 8 - 15

The temperature has reached into the nineties, and it’s not yet noon. My fly rods remain in their tubes, my flies in their sleeves. It is much too hot to play tag with the fish of Bonnie Brook, too hot to do much of anything.

Temperature's rising, but don't let it slow you down! Take advantage of a calendar sizzling with intriguing things for you and your family to enjoy. Don't wait; the summer days are melting away!

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Take a Float on the Wild Side!

Heading upstream through the Refuge from Bassetts Bridge, the Wallkill is a corridor of beauty.

The Wallkill River shares with great rivers like the Nile and the Rhine the peculiarity of northward flow. From out of Lake Mohawk, it spills over a dam then becomes a stream, bubbling and rushing fast, seeming most determined to be free.

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Tutelage at the Tiller

The Sunfish bucked and cavorted at the ramp, looking about as quiet as a rodeo horse and as sturdy as the balsa wood models my brother made as a boy. It occurred to me, not for the first time, that the boat was little more than a dinghy with a sail. Wind blew waves across the ramp. Cold crept in under the personal flotation device as vestiges of ancient sailing lessons crossed my brain. My first mistake: raising the sail at the launch ramp. The second: imagining I could do this alone. Hop aboard!

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Paradise Lost, And Found

A mile-and-a-half north of Millbrook Village in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, you can turn off Old Mine Road and head straight uphill towards the top of the Kittatinny Ridge. Just below the ridge are a series of small lakes that define a haven for those looking for a place to get lost wandering through mountainside forest full of wildlife and open meadows surrounding crystal clear waters. But, the pristine aura at Blue Mountain Lakes yields scant evidence of the ambitious development for which it was created. More...

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The Nature of Preservation

The Schiff Nature Preserve in Mendham Township encompasses over 300 acres in a historic river valley, and has a history as vast and expansive as its terrain. Knowing the stories of those who walked these trails before - from Native Americans, to Revolutionary War heroes, to Norman Rockwell and the Boy Scouts of America - will embellish your trip. And visitors can be confident in the stewardship at the preserve that will usher it into the future.

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Planet Jersey

Red spotted purple (Donna Traylor)

Flying jewels they are sometimes called. Butterflies come in many sizes and colors, from delicately small and hard to spot, to Monarch orange and yellow bouncing about the garden for all to see. Once the weather starts to warm up and nectar plants begin to bloom, butterflies become more and more evident from woodlands to back-yard flower gardens.

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Easy Living

July 2 - 8

Declarations!

You may have heard; it's the 250th anniversary of America's first crisis! And New Jersey lay at the heart, hosting General George Washington and the Continental Army for nearly half of the war. Strategically situated between the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the British Army in New York—and linking New England with the American South—the state became know as the Crossroads of the American Revolution. Here, decisive American victories at Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth shifted the course of the war. Here, the Continental Army endured the hardest winter of the century. At Nassau Hall at Princeton University, the Continental Congress convened in 1783. And in New Jersey, General George Washington issued his farewell orders to the Continental Army.

Celebrate the Fourth at Morristown National Historical Park with an interactive reading of the Declaration of Independence, toasts, and volley of musketry from Continental soldiers, followed by an open house at the Ford Mansion.

Morristown became home to America’s first National Historical Park in 1933. Visitors can find something of our national identity and solemn splendor in the historic structures and the woodland knolls where General George Washington and his army found refuge in the hard winter of 1779-1780.
After the last Patriot soldier left Morristown in 1782, it was almost one-hundred years until four men rescued the Ford Mansion from a dubious fate at auction. The decision to pool their funds and secure the building and grounds was the genesis of the Washington Association which became the principal caretaker of the property, only the third historic home to be preserved in the United States. Over the next fifty years the Association assembled a remarkable array of period artifacts, books and manuscripts that resides at the Washington Headquarters Museum.

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Stars and Stripes

2026 marks the 132nd annual ceremony at the Middlebrook Encampment, a 20-acre park that commemorates the encampments of the Continental Army in 1777 and 1778-1779. It is here that the first American flag was unfurled, and where a 13-Star Betsy Ross flag flies continuously by special act of Congress. Bring lawn chairs and listen to patriotic music before the introduction of dignitaries, reading of the Declaration, Keynote Speaker, historical address, and Benediction. 10am. 1761 Middlebrook Rd. in Bridgewater.

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Guardians

The restored Jacobus Vanderveer House, occupied by General Henry Knox through the summer of 1779, when Washington decided to move his primary camp north to Morristown

The Second Encampment at Middlebrook (1778-79) is remembered for the transformation of the American regulars into a disciplined fighting force. In the summer of 1966, armed with a machete, Cliff Sekel began hacking his way up and down Shley Mountain, in Bedminster, looking for hidden building foundations. The search went on for twenty weeks, over two summer vacations, until he finally found the outlines of a structure. It was part of the Pluckemin Cantonment, one of the great overlooked stories of the American Revolution.

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Tory Stories

Moody's band via artificial imagination

During the Revolutionary War, not only Patriots maneuvered for control, but also Loyalists who remained faithful to the British government. James Moody was a wealthy Sussex County farmer turned fierce British Loyalist officer and spy. From a tucked-away limestone ledge at Big Muckshaw Pond near Newton--now known as Moody's Rock--he and his small band of followers hid between raids on local American Patriot forces and coordinated regional sabotage.
In the the rocky and mysterious Sourland Mountains, Hans Van Pelt, a pacifist who was persecuted because he refused to fight for either side, was forced to find shelter within the spaces of a massive rock formation later dubbed “Fort Hans”.
And soldiers fighting for the Crown evaded their Patriot pursuers as they made their way up to the top of Musconetcong Mountain to a small cave later called the Tory Den.

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June 24 - July 1

Steppin' Out!

Rich and varied, music in Northwest New Jersey is just the ticket for evenings that end on high notes. Your musical destination is never very far away, the price often can't be beat, and there's surely something to satisfy your tonal desires all week long!

Centenary Stage Company's Summer Musical Theatre Series presents a selection of Musical Theatre favorites during the summer months. This Thursday, June 25 it's A Taste of Ireland at 7:30pm.

CountryLIVE opens the annual Music Under The Stars series, Thursday (June 25). Presented by the Hunterdon County Park System, free concerts are held on subsequent Thursday evenings throughout the summer at Deer Path Park, in Flemington.

On alternate Thursdays and Saturdays at 8pm, the Back Deck Concert Series graces the Morris Museum in Morristown with swinging sounds from around the world. On July 2, Alexis Morrast brings a radiant blend of soul, gospel, and classic jazz phrasing. 973/285-5115.

Grab a lawn chair or blanket and come enjoy a wide range of musical talent each Friday at the magnificent New Jersey Botanical Gardens in Ringwood. This week (June 26), Zeke Carey will entertain.

Peter Karp at Ramsaysburg

The Ramsaysburg Summer Concert Series opens the season with blues rocker Peter Karp and band this Saturday (June 27, 4pm). The venue is part of the Historic Ramsaysburg Homestead along the Delaware River on Route 46 at Ramseyburg Road in Knowlton Township. Gates open at 3, so come early to picnic and enjoy the beautiful historic park.

Jazz at Rutherfurd Hall returns on Sunday, June 28 with the great Rio Clemente from 2-4pm. Then mosey on over to the Middle Valley Community Center in Califon for this Sunday's show with Reid Andrés Trio, June 28 from 4-6pm

And the Somerset Concert Series in the Park is always a good Sunday bet. Shows are free and take place at Duke Island Park in Bridgewater.

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Short Walks on the Long Trail

The Appalachian Trail, which stretches over two thousand miles from Georgia to Maine, enters New Jersey at the Delaware Water Gap, heads north along the Kittatinny Ridge to High Point, then east through the Pochuck Valley. You can conquer the Trail this summer by taking these suggested day hikes as it traverses two of our most celebrated state parks — High Point and Stokes Forest — and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, along a 45-mile route through Sussex and Warren counties.

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Teach Your Teachers Well

Lake Wapalanne at the New Jersey School of Conservation, which provides educational opportunities for children, and development opportunities for adults, bringing immense value to the state.

The New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC), founded in 1949 on 240 acres within Stokes State Forest, was saved from closure in 2020 by the Friends of NJSOC after the COVID pandemic created severe financial challenges. Although now supported in part by a dedicated state budget line item, that funding is proposed for elimination this year.
On Sunday, June 28, the Highlands Coalition will host a special educational program about the NJSOC along with a relaxing three-mile hike along the cool, shady waters of the Big Flat Brook and the wetlands of the Blue Mountain Loop. NJSOC’s Executive Director will discuss the school’s history, its importance, and ways to support its mission. The 11am hike begins at 1 Wapalanne Road in Stokes State Forest. Registration is required.

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Your Neighbor's Cow

Dairy workers at the Springhouse Creamery.

A gallon of milk from the supermarket is a combined effort of thousands of cows, raised on any number of farms who knows where. But single herd milk is just that: milk exclusively from the cows that reside on one dairy farm. Northwest New Jersey is now home to a few dairy farmers who sell their milk directly to the consumer. Cream at the top!

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Planet Jersey

Photo by Dave Zolla

Close encounters of the hummingbird kind don’t have to be rare occasions. You can turn your backyard into a hummingbird paradise, a place where these beautiful creatures will become regular visitors. Don’t let them pass you by!

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June 17 - 24

Freedom, Art, & Community

Don’t miss the free Juneteenth Celebration on June 18 at the Morris Museum.

The summer solstice is this Sunday (June 21), the day with more sunshine than any other. Good thing; you'll need all that sunshine to celebrate Father's Day! Take Dad by the hand and show him all that Northwest New Jersey has to offer this and every day of the splendid season. Take advantage of a schedule full of intriguing events, or choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities throughout the region. Spread your wings and reach for the Skylands; summer starts now!

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Go Daddy!

Dads love to paddle, and this time of year is perfect for big time strokes on the Delaware. the longest free-flowing river in the Eastern United States. Knowing the river - its beauty, history, and its hazards - can provide you and your family with many days of enjoyment this summer.
Next week's Annual Delaware River Sojourn (June 20-26) is a six-day guided paddling excursion, combining canoeing/kayaking, camping, educational programs, historical interpretation, and more. The Sojourn is for novice to experienced paddlers or those who are simply curious about the outdoors. You can sign up for the entire trip or for the section(s) or day(s) of your choice. There's still time to register!

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On Track

Restored club car at the Whippany Railway Museum

Your dad will feel like a millionaire while traveling in this carefully restored relic from another age on Whippany Railway's Father's Day Special, Sunday, June 21. 1 Railroad Plaza, Whippany. 973/887-8177 .

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Fatherworthy Fish

Walleye pike

Pound for pound, the hybrid striped bass rates right up there with the best of the fresh water fish when it comes to putting up a good fight once hooked. Pound for pound, the walleye is hard to beat for table fare, with some fishermen calling it the best tasting fish of them all. Fortunately for those anglers in this part of the state who like some muscle on the end of their line and tasty fillets on the table, there are plenty of both fish around due to vigorous and well-planned stocking programs. These fish are there ... but you're going to have to work for them.

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Easy Pickin's

June is the season for strawberries! Check the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Jersey Fresh, for farmers' markets, roadside stands, and "pick-your-own" operations near you!

As June progresses, so does the season of berries, the best-loved fruits of summer. Beginning with the strawberries and languishing until the frosts of October, there is ample opportunity for berry-lovers to get out and savor the goodness of a native fruit. More juicy details...

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Camp Skylands!

Kymer's Camping Resort offers park model, cabin and luxury tent rentals as well as trailer or tent campsites with water, electric and cable TV hookups on two-hundred scenic acres located in Sussex County near the Kittatinny Mountains, at 69 Kymer Road in Branchville. And Kymer's offers exciting rental options for those families that want to enjoy the camping experience without having to purchase their own camping equipment. Trailer or cabin rentals are also available. And each weekend, there's something special going on. Create some memories in the great outdoors!

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Summer Spots

June 11 - 17

"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." Or maybe a barn door. Take advantage of a schedule full of intriguing things for you and your family to enjoy. Or choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website.

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What's The Buzz?

The buzz in "Little Washington" is Sustainability, so don't miss the Music and Arts Festival on Saturday (June 13), a live music, original art, and crafts, celebration in conjunction with the Washington Borough Farmers Market kick-off. Dance the day away to live music while you explore up-cycled and recycled goods vendors, gardening and outdoor groups, environmental preservation exhibitors and related non-profit organizations and vendors. 10am - 5pm. Downtown borough. Washington Business Improvement District, 908/689-4800.

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Wilderness Watch

"A wilderness... is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man; where man himself is a visitor who does not remain"- The Wilderness Act of 1964

In 1959, community activists raised enough money and support to donate thousands of acres to the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was born. Friends of Great Swamp was established in 1999 to provide assistance and support through volunteer efforts and the funding of programs to benefit wildlife and refuge visitors. Eight miles of trails through the wilderness area are accessible only on foot and offer expeditions especially sublime. For starters, find your way to the Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center, named after one of the key leaders in the formation of the refuge, at 32 Pleasant Plains Road, Harding Township.

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The Right Path

The early twentieth century formal, European-style features at Duke Farms — fountains, sculpture, and pergolas — have given way to a modern $45 million model of sustainability. The knowledge, the science, and the techniques for a more sensible human environment are here, painted in bold strokes. Whether you enjoy wildlife watching, wildflower photography, ancient champion trees, geocaching, tracking the marks of man, or a sublime picnic, remember that Duke Farms is a park with a mission.

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Lake Effect

A public access launch for Swartswood Lake on Route 521 is quiet and remote, but leads to boatloads of fun.

Swartswood Lake is like a step back in time, a secluded grand retreat, with sparkling water and amenities galore, cradled in the northern mountains of far away. The lake was a major resort in the early 1900s, and today's State Park maintains the lake's status as a popular destination.

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In Our Footsteps

This fuzzy caterpillar is the offspring of the Gypsy Moth, and the cause of despair for New Jersey gardeners, foresters, and agriculturalists.

Non-natives have become another form of pollution, a biological contaminant in the Garden State, the intruders threatening native species in our waters, fields and forests. How obvious is their presence? Take a walk through the spring woods. A scavenger hunt in northern New Jersey turns up a Who's Who of infamous, alien flora and fauna. Each species offers a lesson in the far-reaching consequence of ignorance, accident, and ambition.

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Positive Developments

June 3 - 10

Keep Survivin'

Kuser Mansion shortly before its demise in 1995. Photo by Donna Traylor.

You know how it goes. You don't know what you've got... There's much worthy of your attention, so take advantage by exploring the vibrant heritage of Northwest New Jersey. Here's your essential guide to the adventures ahead. And keep our calendar close! It's filled with events that will help navigate this most gratifying of seasons. Don't let the well run dry!

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Spring Fest

Historic Lusscroft, once home to the finest purebred Guernsey herd in the region, holds its annual Spring Fling this Saturday.

Located in the northwest corner of Sussex County, Lusscroft Farm has a rich and diverse past, an early model of progressive dairy farming, gaining national prominence as the site where artificial insemination of dairy cows was developed. The historic farm, including fields and pastures, ponds, woodland, various barnyards, buildings, barns and farm structures, is now part of High Point State Park.
Take the opportunity to visit this Saturday, June 6 at Lusscroft's Spring Fest! Guided bird walks, Manor House tours, avian wildlife lectures, a photography contest, bake sale, barn sale, cottage sale, vendors and more are all part of a promising day. The event is presented by The Heritage and Agriculture Association, Inc., in cooperation with the NJ DEP/Div. of Parks & Forestry. 10am - 4pm. $5 admission, under 18 free. 50 Neilson Road in Wantage. Click or call 973-288-2760.

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Homeward Bound on the Morris Canal

Morris Canal Lock #7 West at New Village

Read about a canal boat captain and her two daughters as they navigate the Morris Canal in June, 1863. With your imagination properly stimulated, make time to introduce yourself to Lock 7 West, also known as Bread Lock, as home made potato bread and pies were sold at a little shack located at the foot of the lock. At today's Bread Lock Park, located on Route 57E (mile marker 4) in New Village, a short section of the canal towpath and canal prism has been cleared and offers a lovely walk. The park is one of many sites along the Warren County Canal Greenway.

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The Essence of Fluorescence

A thirty-two-foot-long pageant of rocks at the Franklin Mineral Museum that includes many of the ninety-plus fluorescent minerals found here, comes alive under ultraviolet light.

Most visitors do not realize that oceans covered much of Sussex County some 1.25 billion years before, a time when there was little life in the seas and even less on land, but when the astounding volume and variety of minerals in this area was deposited in as what we now know as the Franklin Marble. The area’s unusual geology helped shape a rich stream of historic discoveries, visionary people, successes, and failures. Today, we can follow that history along a corridor running from Sparta northward to Franklin, a fifteen-mile road trip that is fascinating, fun, and well worth taking!

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Ode to Jean

The Benjamin Van Campen House

Many have lamented the decline of hundreds of historic structures scattered throughout the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, most unmarked and unlikely to survive. Among the most prominent are those of the Van Campen Homestead: the historic house built by Abraham Van Campen (circa 1732), the Benjamin Van Campen House, dating to about 1840;, the Calno and Depue cemeteries, 1840, and the site of the "Van Kamps" fort of the French and Indian War.
There was no greater champion for this legacy than Jean Zipser, the widely admired former Mayor of the former Pahaquarry Township, and who died in a tragic car accident in 2006. Zipser spent 27 years as a National Park Service tenant in the Abraham Van Campen House, once owned by her family. She later helped forge a partnership with NPS to rehabilitate the Benjamin Van Campen House, where her grandmother, Julia Orthwine, once lived, and from which her descendants were later evicted by that same Park Service.
That work continues today as Van Campen family and friends have partnered with the Friends of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to help fund the restoration and long-term preservation of the homestead. Visitors can learn more about this remarkable place—including its historic buildings, peaceful meadows, scenic walking paths, and nearby Van Campens Glen— during this Sunday's Walking Tour (June 7, 11am-2pm), a kick-off event for the revitalized preservation effort.

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Great Stories

Visit Morristown National Historical Park, and learn about the life of a common soldier during the encampment at Jockey Hollow, where General Washington and the Continental Army survived through what would be the coldest winter on record. During the army's second winter at Morristown, General Washington lived and made his headquarters in a relatively new two-story house on the outskirts of town built by Jacob Ford, Jr. (above).

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of America's first crisis. New Jersey lay at the heart of the American Revolution, hosting General George Washington and the Continental Army for nearly half of the war. Strategically positioned between the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the British Army in New York—and midway between New England and the American South—the state became the crossroads where Patriots, Loyalists, British forces, and Hessians maneuvered for control. Here, decisive American victories at Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth shifted the course of the war. Here, the Continental Army endured the hardest winter of the century. At Nassau Hall at Princeton University, the Continental Congress convened in 1783. And in New Jersey, General George Washington issued his farewell orders to the Continental Army.
For many, winter is a season for reflection. The challenge of the season strips away pretense and invites deeper understanding. Prepare for a year filled with powerful stories from the Crossroads of the American Revolution.

 

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