This Week in the New Jersey Skylands

August 13 - 20

Spread your wings and reach for the Skylands this and every week this summer. Don't wait; its over before you know it.

1. Riverfest
2. Free tunes
3. Peaches
4. Summer Hikes
5. Cool Floats

Notes in the field

The summer's premier music festival of Northwest New Jersey occurs this weekend at Knowlton Riverfest. Showcasing an eclectic array of musical performers from around the country and globe, this year's performers include Gandalf Murphy, Terrance Simien, Ian parker and others. Between the music: crafts, games, exhibits and lots of food! 12 - 11. $10 pp, 16 & under free, free parking . Hunters Lodge Field, Rt. 46, Delaware, NJ. 2mi east I-80 Exit 4.

If you come, be sure and leave time for a visit to Lakota Wolf Preserve, where four packs roam here in the East in a natural surrounding for the first time in over a century. The Preserve welcomed five new pups late this spring, and they prove without a doubt that wolves can, in fact, be cute!

Real Good For Free

More groovin tunes can be heard on Thursday, 8/14 when Hunterdon Parks Music Under the Stars presents Felix Cavaliere's Rascals which is Felix and a pack of hot studio players reminiscing the repitoire of one of the most exciting sixties bands. The show is FREE. 7 - 9pm. Deer Path Park, West Woodschurch Road, Readington Township; 908/782-1158

The Black River Music Festival features local original musical acts as well as numerous visual artists on Saturday, 8/16 in Chester, Routes 206 & 24/513. 908/879-4814

Somerset Concert Series in the Park's Bluegrass Fest is on Sunday, 8/17 and features Karl Shiflett and the Big Country Show along with the Steep Canyon Rangers at Duke Island Park, Old York Road. 5:30 - 8:30pm; 908/722-1200

And Paddy and the Pale Boys take the stage on Sunday at the Shippen Manor in Oxford at 6pm. 8 Belvidere Ave.; 908/453-4381

Jersey Peach

Get your fruit on Saturday (8/16) at Windy Brow Farms annual Peach Festival! Several varieties of peaches, seasonal fruits, tastings, desserts, ice cream, cute farm animals, and free drawings. 10am - 4pm. Free admission. 359 Ridge Road (Rt 519). Newton; 973/579-9657

On The Trail

Take a hike through New Jersey's big woods, Stokes State Forest. No wonder Stokes comes first to most people's minds when somebody says "New Jersey State Park." It's really an amazing place, and a visit in the next few weeks will afford you coolness beneath the tall trees.

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. The Delaware Water Gap hiking trails are among the most beautiful in the state.

Or begin to explore the Highlands Trail network along a broad band of foothill and watershed systems linking the Hudson River from north of Bear Mountain, southwest across Sussex and Morris Counties to the Delaware River in Warren and Hunterdon Counties.

For those of us who have neither the time nor the inclination for a six-month ridge run from Georgia to Maine, the 42-mile New Jersey stretch on the Applachian Trail offers some very exciting possibilities. The entire stretch in Jersey is intersected by country lanes or Park roads every 5 to 10 miles. This means that, with a little planning and a map or two, the Jersey section can be conquered one day at a time in seven modest day-hikes.

Or all at once!

Cool Floats

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. Floating on this river is lots of fun!!! Knowing the river- its beauty, history, and its hazards- can provide you and your family with many days of enjoyment this summer. If possible, plan your trip for a weekday, and you'll feel like your have the river all to yourself.

Adventure Sports
Specialty in canoe, kayak & raft trips through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. 2 mi. off I-80, exit 309. 1-800-487-2628
Bucks County River Country
Tubing, calm water rafting, canoeing & kayaking trips on the Delaware River in historic Bucks County (near New Hope, PA). 40 years of family fun for all ages. “We love to see you wet!" 215/297-5000
Chamberlain Canoes, Rafts, Tubes
One or milti-day trips for groups of all sizes, overnight river camping. Located one mile off Rt. 80 in PA Poconos. 1-800-422-6631
Delaware River Tubing
Affordable relaxation for you and your family or group on a leisurely drift down the river. Your trip includes a free floating barbecue lunch! Easy access 1 mi. south of Frenchtown. 908/996-5386
Indian Head Canoes
Canoe, raft, kayak, camping on the upper Delaware River. New log cabins, easy 2 hour drive from NYC, family specials, group rates. 1-800-874-2628
Kittatinny Canoes and Rafts
Canoe, whitewater raft, kayak, tube and camp on the Delaware River. Bimonthly learn to canoe and kayak days. Scouts/church youth groups camp free.
Dingmans Ferry , 1-800-FLOATKC
Kayak East
ACA certified instructors. Kayak classes and guided tours for adults and children. Various locations n northern and central New Jersey. 1-866-529-2532
Silver Canoe and Raft Rentals
Canoe, rafts and kayak rentals on the Delaware River. Low rates, group rates, prompt and friendly service. 1 1/2 hr from NYC. 1-800-724-8342

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