If you prefer to read this email in your web browser, please click here.

April 9 - 16

Early Risers

A barn owl chick poses in a hay loft after being rehabilitated at the Mercer Wildlife Center and before being returned to the nest box. (Photo: MacKenzie Hall)
Multiplication is the order of the season, and--rain, snow, sleet, or hail--the show must go on! Look and listen for the signs of spring and making babies!! Let your senses soak up the season — its fleeting beauty, warmth, scents, and most of all the peace and rejuvenation in its experience. More...
Here's your essential guide to the adventures ahead. Keep our calendar close! It's filled with events that will help navigate this most gratifying of seasons. Up and at 'em!

Find your fish!

 Fishing isn't just a hobby; it's a beloved pastime in Northwest New Jersey. You'll find a wide range of fishing environments—from meandering rivers to serene lakes and babbling mountain streams. The fishing opportunities are equally diverse, featuring trout, both wild and stocked, as well as bass, walleye, carp, musky, shad, and more. Whether you prefer the art of fly fishing, the precision of casting, or just a lazy worm and bobber, there's something for every angler, and spring is the time to get started!

A Stealth River

Opening day of fishing season on the Whippany at Speedwell Dam in Morristown
If ever there was a river that expresses New Jerseyans' attitude toward their state's natural resources, the Whippany River is it. The Whippany rises in privacy in Mendham Township, and ends in obscurity amid a maze of highways in the Meadows of East Hanover, Hanover, and Parsippany, at the confluence of the Passaic, Rockaway, and Whippany Rivers. On the way, it provides us with some pretty views and some good fishing, and slices right through our lives. Mostly we drive, walk, work and live near it, never knowing it's there.

The Big House

Rutherfurd Hall
The Rutherfurd family holdings have occupied what is now Allamuchy and Green Townships (spanning Warren and Sussex Counties) since 1758, including the home built in 1902 by Winthrop Rutherfurd known by the family as the Big House, identified by the rest of us as Rutherfurd Hall. The eighteen-thousand square foot Tudor "country house", with thirty-eight rooms, elegant interior woodwork, fireplaces, ceilings and original furnishings is now on both NJ and National Registers of Historic Places. Opened to the public in April of 2012 as venue for public lectures, concerts, fairs and festivals, house tours, and private events, Rutherfurd Hall is a living archive of the family legacy. 1686 Route 517, Allamuchy.

Shining Examples

The Essence of Fluorescence. A thirty-two-foot-long pageant of rocks at the Franklin Mineral Museum that includes many of the ninety-plus fluorescent minerals found here, comes alive under ultraviolet light.
Is it the bronze statue of the miner on the front lawn greeting the visitor or perhaps the full-size replica mine inside the building? Or could it be the lure of dinosaur footprints from New Jersey, the world's largest polished slabs of petrified wood, scorpions, dinosaur dung, and over 3,000 specimens of local minerals that brings a steady stream of visitors to the Franklin Mineral Museum each year. The Museum, a non-profit educational institution which opened in 1965, is located at 32 Evans Street in Franklin (Sussex County).

Musket Memories

Among the battles and skirmishes to take place in New Jersey during the War of Independence, the Battle of Bound Brook was an early, though not crushing, defeat on the record of the Continental Army near what is recognized as the first Middlebrook Encampment.
This weekend (April 12-13), American and British soldiers again do battle in street and field in Bound Brook, recreating the events of 248 years ago. Colonial crafters, encampment, children's activities, special programs and tours and more round out the event, which is coordinated by the Friends of the Abraham Staats House. Please check the website for details and to confirm times.

17 Von Steuben Ln, South Bound Brook.

Thanks for joining us in our appreciation of Northwest New Jersey and all the brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season. Tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Pick from a multitude of daytrip itineraries and watch out for our virtual efforts to keep you informed. For the more aerobically inclined, the Outdoor Map shows the way to go, or choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website.
Like many other small, independent and specialized information sources, our budget will increasingly rely on reader donations. Help us keep you informed about all the great stuff to do in and around Northwest New Jersey! If you like what we offer, we hope you'll consider a contribution.

Share this email *|MC:TOPSHARE|*
Home Page | Events | Area Maps | Contents | Advertise
Skylands Visitor Magazine (Guest Services, LLC), PO Box 329, Columbia, NJ • Privacy Statement