April 21 - 28

Photo by Mick Castagna.

Green On!

Earth Day, on Good Friday, combines with Easter and Passover holidays this weekend, making a substantial case for spring celebration. Take advantage of a calendar budding with intriguing things for you and your family to enjoy. Or pick and click any of dozens of day trips and tours suggested on this map.

Shell Games

The Easter Bunny arrives Saturday morning (4/23) at Liberty Village Premium Outlets in Flemington at the center's main entrance. Hundreds of plastic eggs filled with treats & prizes for children will be hidden throughout the village. The annual egg hunt will follow. 9:45am sharp, 1 Church St.. 908/782-8550

More (camouflaged) eggs will be hunted in the fields and forests of Ringwood at the Weis Ecology Center starting at 2pm (150 Snake Den Road; 973/835-2160). And in Chester, 5,000 filled eggs will keep lots of little ones busy, along with prizes, and music.

On Saturday you can also visit with the Easter Bunny on the diesel-powered Streamliner train that runs from the Whippany Railway Museum on a 45
minute, 10-mile trip to the Historic Morristown & Erie Railway.. Rt 10 W & Whippany Road $13/ $8 under 12, 973/887-8177.

Seasonal Camping

Campgrounds in the Skylands account for a huge amount of fun. Over 500,000 campers relax and enjoy the rural character of Northwest New Jersey each year. Most of these visits come in summer; short overnight or weekend camping trips. But many families make a Skylands campground their own vacation home, renting seasonal sites or bringing their own RV to rest at a lovely -- and well-serviced -- spot somewhere up in the New Jersey countryside. These facilities are a long way from generic trailer hookups and tent sites. Take a drive and check one out soon!

• CAMP TAYLOR CAMPGROUND
  Seasonal Sites, Tenters, RV rental, Cabins near the Delaware Water Gap. Home of LAKOTA WOLF PRESERVE. 85 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Columbia, 908/496-4333
  
• TRIPLE BROOK FAMILY CAMPING RESORT
  Seasonal Sites, RV, tent or cabin on 250 acres in Kittatinny Mountains. Two pools, lake, tennis, farm animals, family events. 58 Honey Run Rd., Hope, 908/459-4079
  
• HARMONY RIDGE CAMPGROUND
  Seasonal Sites, Outstanding family facilities near Culver Lake and Stokes Forest. 23 Risdon Drive, Branchville, 973-948-4941
• TALL TIMBERS
  Private campground community with central water and sewage disposal, boating, hiking, fishing and planned activities for all ages. 100 Tall Timbers Rd, Sussex 07461, 973/875-1991
• KYMER CAMPGROUNDS
  Branchville, Byram, Delaware
  
• ROCKVIEW VALLEY CAMPGROUND RESORT
  Family Campground offering Seasonal Sites, RV & Tent Camping way up in the Northwest Corner. And the view from the top of that rock is really something. 59 River Rd, Montague, 973/293-3383
• WINDY ACRES CAMPGROUND
  Private lakefront RV park offers big lots, private boat launch, waterskiing, kayaking, etc. at beautiful Lake Paulinskill. 294 Newton Swartswood Rd, Newton, 973/897-8695

Think running a campground is easy? Check out Campground Owner Diaries.

Feastables

The curtain is up for this year's Sussex County Farmers Market at the Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road in Augusta. One of only a handful of New Jersey farmers markets housed in a permanent building, the new market offers Jersey Fresh products every Saturday from 9am to 2pm. You'll find perennials, cut flowers, dried flowers, eggs, honey, goat milk soap, value added jams, jellies, pickles and more, meat and cheese. As the season progresses, make this your one stop shopping for fresh-picked-that-day vegetables and fruits! When you taste the difference fresh picked makes, you’ll definitely make this a regular Saturday stop. All products are either Sussex County grown or Jersey Fresh.

Ruins of the original company store and offices stand at the crossroads of town from Colonial times through Hewitt’s operation at the Long Pond Ironworks.

Wonder Walks

A walk in the woods at this time of year can reveal more than you can imagine. It's warm, yet there’s little foliage to block your view, and you can watch, hear and smell the forest come alive. Hikers are consistently rewarded with visible reminders of a busy past, sometimes in remote tracts high in the hills.

The rigorous climb to the old copper mines in the Kittatinny Mountains is well worth it. Or follow Hampton's Map on a trail of forts dating to the French and Indian War. And nowhere is our area’s blend of natural beauty, industrial history, agricultural heritage and good fishing holes more perfectly displayed than at White Lake. Go south to Bald Pate Mountain or the Sourlands. Visit Long Pond Ironworks in West Milford, walk the Morris Canal or trek some rail trails before all those darn green leaves get in the way!

For more information about the region’s parks and outdoor resources take a peek at the Skylands outdoor destinations map. Or check this quick guide to parks in Northwest New Jersey.

Subscribe!

Northwest New Jersey and destinations just beyond those borders, in Pennsylvania and New York, are equally intriguing and offer convenient and adventurous ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season. Keep an eye on our calendar for great things to do all the time! And we've got a bundle of stories to help you on your way. 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.

Enjoy a year round supply of great things to see and do in Northwest New Jersey by signing up for a magazine for each season here.

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