The Personality of Northwest New Jersey Skylands

“Skylands” is simply a perspective; a way of looking at and appreciating Northwestern New Jersey. “Thinking Skylands” endeavors to meld those characteristics shared by the constituent counties, towns, ridges, valleys, country roads and sections of interstate into a comprehensive portrait; one more attentive to geographic, cultural, and historical attributes than county and municipal borders. Explore the remarkable personality of this place!

Officially, the Skylands Region refers to Northwest New Jersey and includes the counties of Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex. Destinations just beyond those borders, in neighboring counties and states (Pennsylvania and New York), are equally intriguing and convenient, so don't be confused if you come across some of those here.

The region contains two national parks at its edges, 60,000 acres of state parkland, and a diverse and beautiful geography filled with lakes, rivers and picturesque hills dotted with farms.

The region's rustic nature is perfectly complemented by many vigorous towns and villages that offer wonderful entertainment, shopping and dining opportunities, fine museums, theaters and accommodations.

And there is a year round schedule of festivals, arts & crafts fairs, performance, exhibits, and educational events in New Jersey's Great Northwest.

This Summer, Think Skylands!

Make it a point to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season. We’ve collected lots of ideas for you and your family. Some may be obvious, some might surprise you. We hope we’re helpful when you’re planning an afternoon, a weekend, or perhaps a permanent relocation to New Jersey.

Appalachian Trail Short Hikes

With a little planning and a map or two, the New Jersey section can be conquered one day at a time in seven modest day-hikes.

Canoeing the Delaware River

The main stem of the Delaware, 331 miles from Hancock, NY, to its mouth at Cape May Point, NJ, is the longest free-flowing river in Eastern United States.

Impressions at Peters Valley School of Craft

Plan your summer eduvacation with a class at Peters Valley.

Warren County Farmers' Fair and Balloon Festival

Make time for the 86th Annual Warren County Farmers’ Fair and Balloon Festival, July 27-August 3, 2024. A Family Tradition!

Historic Railroads of Knowlton Township

The Warren Railroad was the first to lay track in Knowlton Township when, in 1856, John I. Blair completed its link to the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W) and the lucrative eastern markets for coal and iron products from Pennsylvania. A century of busy railroading followed.

History You Can Taste

The Garden State Heirloom Seed Society Museum, housed in a nineteenth century farm house, is an interactive and informative stroll through New Jersey?s storied agricultural past.

Hybrid Bass Fishing

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

The Morris Canal Greenway

The Morris Canal Greenway encompasses part of the historic Morris Canal's alignment and is a cooperative effort of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Canal Society of New Jersey, Waterloo Village and Friends of the Morris Canal. As you walk the Greenway you will see the remains of canal features, including inclined planes, locks, canal bed, and historic industries and communities directly related to the Morris Canal's operations.

Lopatcong Creek Watershed

Lopatcong Creek pours down the Scotts Mountain Ridge in Harmony Township towards its appointment with the Delaware River twelve miles southwest at Phillipsburg.

Paulins Kill Watershed

The Paulins Kill is New Jersey's third-largest tributary of the Delaware River, and its watershed covers a total area of 177 square miles. The river flows north from its source near Newton in Sussex County, and then turns southwest toward the Warren County townships of Frelinghuysen, Hardwick, Blairstown, and Knowlton.

Pequest Watershed

The Pequest starts just south of Newton and ends in 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.

Pohatcong Creek Watershed

Following Pohatcong Mountain, another of the many Appalachian ridges that run through Warren County, the Pohatcong Watershed lies parallel and between those of the Musconetcong River to the south and the Pequest to the north.

Core Values

Many, many stories adorn the history of the Highlands. But what about the future? What are the significant challenges ahead for our cherished home? That question has an easy answer: climate change.

Musconetcong Watershed

Forming the southern Warren County border, the big river runs forty-two-and-a-half miles through a wide valley flanked on the northwest by the Allamuchy and Pohatcong mountains, and Schooley's and Musconetcong mountains to the southeast in Morris and Hunterdon counties, twisting and turning over the ruins of our past.

Preserve, Protect, Restore

Friends groups, as we know them in relation to many of our parks and precious historic sites, are surely bound by their commitment to community and stewardship. Always not-for-profit and volunteer driven, with the occasional paid executive director, Friends groups connect people to natural places, as well as to our heritage, while enhancing the role of public lands in local communities.

Wawayanda State Park

As wild as its name, the land of "winding, winding water" is home to Indian shelters and some of the best bear dens in NJ, a lake to swim and boat on, great gobs of pudding stone to climb, rock to scramble, ledges for leaping, primeval forest, 20 miles of Appalachian Trail and so much more