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.

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.

Cross Country Skiing

Nordic skiing represents an easy glide through woods and gentle valleys surrounded by the sparkling serenity of freshly fallen snow.Equipment is simple, straightforward and inexpensive, with little risk of injury.

Ice Fishing

The first fishable ice (three inches or more) usually forms by sometime in mid to late December. Then you can head out onto the fishable coves on such impoundments as Lake Hopatcong, Lake Wawayanda, Swartswood Lake, Paulinskill Lake, Cranberry Lake, Lake Musconetcong, Budd Lake, Mountain Lake, or any other frozen body of water in where you can gain public access.

Snowshoeing

Not only does snowshoeing provide a cardio packed punch of a workout, it is also a lot of fun! Snowshoeing is easy to learn, inexpensive compared to other winter sports, and poses little risk of injury. Try a tundra trek this winter!

Winter Bird Watching

Hastened by the first blanketings of snow, the shortened days of winter in the Skylands afford a chilly but unequaled opportunity to draw closer to nature and to enjoy the quiet that descends with the withdrawal of activity to the indoors. On these cold days, while local countryside vistas remain open and unshrouded by their canopy of leaves, the fields, forests, and woodlands of our region are prime for the pastime of winter birdwatching.

Art and Fellowship and the Ross Farm

At the western edge of the Great Swamp, less than a mile from downtown Basking Ridge, lies the fifty-acre Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate—also known today as The Ross Farm. This historic property has been home to several prominent families whose legacies shaped both New Jersey and the nation.

Coyotes: The Life of Wiley

A sharp yip travels across a dark field by Lamington Road. More yips, then howls, then yip-howls follow. People in a nearby lot freeze, car keys in their hands, as the canine version of a devil's fugue increases in tempo. The sound moves west, following a line of woods one hundred yards distant and not nearly distant enough

Hampton's Map

Trace a line of forts that protected New Jersey's northwestern frontier along the Delaware River during the French and Indian war.

Wildlife Management Areas

Guide to Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in Northwest New Jersey.

American Revolution Anniversary

General George Washington and the Continental Army spent almost half the American Revolution in this small state.

First Snow

It started, as most things do, innocently enough, with a single flake fluttering shyly toward the lawn that was hidden under the fallen leaves. A moment later another followed and then another.

Learning Lenape

For over 12,000 years the Lenape and their ancestors occupied northwestern New Jersey. Who were they? How did they live? What kinds of tools did they make and use? Archaeologists have been trying to answer these questions for over a century.

Morristown National Historical Park

To understand why it's a great story, walk to the top of the hill in Jockey Hollow that held 200 soldier huts in early 1790. Walk up one day in January and imagine staying there until it gets warm enough sometime in April to take off your down jacket.

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.

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.

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.

Watershed Moments

Left to its own devices, every drop of rain that falls in Warren County eventually finds its way to the Delaware River. The route each drop takes is determined by what is known as a watershed, an area of land that drains into a creek, stream, river or lake. The long linear river valleys of the Paulins Kill, Pequest River, Pohatcong Creek, Lopatcong Creek and Musconetcong, which run generally parallel from northeast to southwest, are main channels for flow across the county towards its western border, all part of the larger Delaware River watershed.