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.

A General Birding Guide

The pursuit of birds in view appeals to lots of people for lots of reasons. Beyond the activity's obvious natural allure, "chasing" birds keeps watchers physically fit. Learning and identifying hundreds of species on the fly challenges the intellect and intensifies awareness. And for photographers and illustrators, there is no better subject. The concentration of ridges, valleys and wetlands in our area holds a fortune of interaction with the avian experience any time of year, but especially in spring.

Mines, Metal and Men

There is a thread of heritage and industry that began in the New Jersey highlands centuries ago, before America officially started. If you know about it, a ride on the interstate becomes a little more interesting as you approach the hills on the horizon, passing through corridors cut through the earth. And turning off onto a county highway becomes a tour through some of the richest history in America when you really know where you ar

Tracks of Our Tears

The 9/11 National Memorial Trail links with the Paulinskill Valley Trail in Knowlton Township and is marked by a restored three-sided stone fireplace left from a demolished nineteenth century farmhouse.

Vernal Equinox

In a hemlock forest surrounding a little stream, snow remains packed, although receding, the stream's current running high and cold, coltsfoot spreading over an exposed shoal, a touch of yellow to brighten the otherwise bland landscape.

Bobcats in the Skylands

The bobcat, carrying a freshly killed rabbit, slipped through some mountain laurel. Almost three feet long and twenty inches high at the shoulder, in good years she might weigh as much as twenty-five pounds. If desperate —or lucky—she could take down a small deer.

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.

Origins of Warren County

On November 20, 1824, legislation entitled “AN ACT to erect the southwesterly part of Sussex county into a separate county, to be called the county of Warren” was passed by the Council and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey.

Shear Delight

Jacobs are the sheep of choice at Jenny Jump Farm. Hand-spinners love their natural color, and the wool can be spun into a complete spectrum from white to black.

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park

Today the canal's route provides a 67 mile corridor of recreation and wildlife that invites your pleasure by foot, bike or canoe.

Fly Tying

Fishing for trout with flies is like solving a puzzle. The current, the fish, the bugs under the surface and in the air all seem indecipherable. The clues are there however, and the code can sometimes, although by no means always, be broken.

Search for Eagles

A series Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen Memorial Field Trips, sponsored by the Brandwein Institute, searches for eagles in the upper Delaware Valley.

Whippany River

If ever there was a river that expresses New Jerseyans' attitude toward their state's natural resources, the Whippany River is it.

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.