Birding Highlights
This beautiful park near Atlantic Highlands encompasses over
900 acres of mostly mature deciduous woodland, steep slopes
covered with Mountain Laurel and steep cliffs adjacent to the
Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers. It is an excellent place
for spring and fall passerine migrants and has a good community
of nesting species. In winter there can be large numbers
of dabbling and diving ducks on the rivers. Great Horned
and Screech Owls are common, though seldom seen. There are
many miles of trails here to explore. Some birds seen in
the park have included Anhinga, Eurasian Wigeon, Mississippi Kite,
Pileated Woodpecker, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Yellow-throated,
Connecticut, Hooded, and Kentucky Warblers, Dickcissel, and
Lincoln’s Sparrow. The Northeast's first Green Violet-ear
(hummingbird) was found just outside the park in 2005.
Directions
From the north:
- Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 117 and follow Rt.
36 about 11.5 miles to Navesink Ave. (The turn is marked
“Red Bank/Scenic Rd., Mt. Mitchell”).
- Turn right and proceed to the Park’s Buttermilk Valley
entrance on the left (about 0.4 miles).
- To access the Rocky Point Section, instead of turning on
Navesink Ave., you continue an additional 1.25 miles on Rt.
36.
- Make a right on Portland Rd., just before crossing the
Shrewsbury River bridge, by the “Off the Hook” restaurant.
- Follow Portland Rd. to the park entrance on the left
(about 0.8 of a mile).
From the south:
- Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 105 and then follow
Rt. 36 north.
- Just after you pass the exit to Sandy Hook (about 5.5
miles), you cross the Shrewsbury River bridge.
- For the Rocky Point Section, take the first right just
after the bridge.
- At the bottom of the steep exit ramp, turn right and go
under the bridge.
- Turn right, go up the hill, and turn left onto Portland
Rd.
- Follow Portland to the park entrance on the left.
- For the Buttermilk Valley entrance, stay on Rt. 36 about
1.5 miles past the Sandy Hook exit.
- The jug handle turn for Navesink Ave. occurs shortly after
the traffic light at Linden Ave. It is labeled “Mt. Mitchell
scenic overlook.”
- Turn left at the end of the exit ramp, cross Rt. 36, and
proceed about 0.4 miles to the parking lot on the left.
|
