General Information
Dates, times, and leaders for SHBO field trips can be found
on our
calender.
Field trips go in any weather, usually to
mid-afternoon. Bring binoculars and scopes, where
appropriate, as well as snacks and lunch, as most trips are in locations without restaurants or
food stores. Include a hat, insect repellent, raingear, boots,
plenty of fluids, etc.,
depending on the season and the weather.
Directions for SHBO Summer Trips:
ALLAIRE STATE PARK
Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 98 (Interstate 195).
Follow the sign for I-195, then go west on I-195 for almost 3
miles to Exit 31B (Rt. 547).
Turn right to go north on Rt. 547 for a couple of hundred
yards to the intersection with Allaire Road (Rt 524).
Turn right to go east on Allaire Road for about a mile and a
quarter to
the main park entrance, on your right.
Follow the entrance road to the
main parking lot.
(For trips that start at the campground, the entrance is a
left turn off Allaire Road, between Rt. 547 and the main park
entrance.)
ASSUNPINK WMA
From the north: follow the New Jersey Turnpike south
to Exit 8, and take Rt. 33 into Hightstown.
Turn left onto Routh 539 and follow it (through several
turns) to its junction with Herbert Road, about 4.75 miles
further.
Turn left onto Herbert Rd., then left again on Imlaystown
Rd. (about 2 miles further).
Once you are on Imlaystown Road, it is about a mile and a
quarter to the main parking lot at
Lake Assunpink.
From the southwest: exit the New Jersey Turnpike at
Exit 7A (Interstate 195).
Take I-195 east to Exit 8 (Rt. 539) -- about 2 miles.
Turn onto Rt. 539 going north. After about 2 miles, you
will reach
Herbert Rd.
Turn right and proceed as described above.
From the southeast: take the Garden State Parkway to
Exit 58 (Route 539).
Get on Rt. 539 going north. You will reach the junction
with Herbert Rd. after about 45 miles.
From the east: take the Garden State Parkway
to Exit 98 and follow signs to I-195 west.
Take the interstate to Exit 11 (Imlaystown
Rd.) -- about 22 miles.
Get on Imlaystown Rd. heading north. In about 2.5 miles
you will reach the parking
lot at Lake Assunpink.
ATLANTIC COUNTY
PARK
From the North, take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 38,
getting onto the Atlantic City Expressway going toward
Philadelphia.
After approximately 4.5 miles, take Exit 12E and get on Route 40
going west toward May’s Landing.
Follow Route 40 for approximately 6 miles, turning left when
Route 50 diverges to the left.
The entrance to the park is approximately 4 miles further along,
on the left.
BOMBAY HOOK
WEEKEND
Directions:
Take the NJ Turnpike south across the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
Continue I-95 South into Delaware to Route 1 South (Christiana
exit).
Take Route 1 (toll road $1) to Exit 114 (Route 13 North to
Smyrna; turn right at the end of the exit ramp.)
Turn right at the next light onto Route 12 East (Smyrna-Leipsic
Road).
Stay on Route 12 (approximately 5 miles) until it merges with
Route 9.
Go approximately ¼ mile on Route 9 and take the first left,
onto Whitehall Neck Rd (brown sign on right).
Whitehall Neck Rd. will deadend on Bombay Hook NWR.
Follow this road to the refuge headquarters, the meeting point
for the field trip on both Friday and Saturday (9:30 a.m.).
Motels:
Participants need to make their own motel reservations.
It is advisable to do this very early, as rooms can fill up
quickly in the Dover, DE area. The information below
about hotels reasonably near the NWR comes from the 2007 AAA
Tour Book.
| Motel |
Phone |
Approx. Rate |
AAA Rating |
| Comfort Inn |
302-674-3300 |
$100+ |
2 Diamonds |
| Comfort Suites |
302-736-1204 |
$120+ |
3 Diamonds |
| Days Inn |
302-674-8002 |
$110+ |
2 Diamonds |
| Fairfield Inn |
302-677-0900 |
$100+ |
3 Diamonds |
| Hampton Inn |
302-736-3500 |
$110+ |
3 Diamonds |
| Holiday Inn Express |
302-678-0600 |
$100+ |
3 Diamonds |
| Sheraton Dover Hotel |
302-678-8500 |
$130+ |
3 Diamonds |
CANAL ROAD
Meeting Place: Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge
Headquarters
Directions:
Take I-287 north to Route 23 north.
Proceed north on Route 23 for approximately 25 miles to the
Sussex Queen Diner, at the intersection of Route 23 and Route
565 North (with traffic light).
Turn right onto Rt. 565 North and follow this for
approximately one mile, where you will see the refuge
headquarters on your left.
Turn left into the parking lot and park close to the
bathrooms.
FERNS OF NORTH JERSEY
The trip will last approximately until 3 p.m., and visit several
locations in Sussex and Warren Counties.
Meeting is at 8:30 a.m. in the parking area of the Sussex Branch
Trail, just north of Andover on Route 206 in Sussex County. If
you have the DeLorme New Jersey Atlas and Gazetteer, it is Map
24, in the left-hand corner of block H-2 on the grid (“Andover
Junction”), just south of Kittatinny Valley State Park.
Directions from Interstate 80:
Take Exit 25 north on Route 206, and drive a little over 5 miles
to the unpaved parking area on the right.
From Andover: the parking area is located about 0.9
miles north on 206 from the traffic light in the center of
Andover, and about 0.3 miles north of the light at Limecrest
Road/County Road 669.
Leader: Rick Radis
Home phone # 973.586.0845
Cell phone # 973.479.4807.
FORSYTHE (BRIGANTINE)
National Wildlife Refuge
From the north: take the Garden State Parkway south to Exit 48.
Proceed south on Route 9 for approximately 6 miles (through
Smithville and past a strip mall on the left) to a traffic light
in Oceanville by the post office. Look for a refuge sign.
Turn left on Great Creek Road and proceed to the refuge
parking lot. We meet outside the restrooms and sightings
book building.
From the south: take the Garden State Parkway north, exiting
at the Atlantic City Service Area at Mile 42.
Drive to the far end of the service area, following
signs to Jimmy Leeds Rd.
Turn right on Jimmy Leeds Rd. and take it about 0.4
miles.
Go left onto Great Creek Rd., and follow it several
miles to the refuge entrance.
HACKENSACK MEADOWLANDS
Meet at DeKorte Environmental Center.
Take Exit 16W off the NJ Turnpike (Secaucus & Rutherford).
Follow Route 3 west to Route 17 south (about 1.5 miles).
Turn onto the Route 17 south ramp.
The ramp will cross back over Route 3 and come to a traffic
light (Polito
Ave.). There will be a sign directing you to De Korte State Park.
Turn left; then go to Valley Brook Rd. and turn left again.
The
parking lot for De Korte State Park and the Hackensack
Meadowlands Development Commission (HMDC) is about 1.75 miles
further along Valley Brook Road.
Once there, park in the southeast corner of the lot
(beyond the building).
HIGH POINT STATE
PARK
Take Route 23 north to High Point State Park.
High Point SP is 21 miles beyond Rt. 515, 12 miles beyond Rt.
94 in Hamburg, and 8 miles beyond the center of the town of
Sussex.
High Point SP is at the highest point on Rt. 23. You
will proceed up a steep hill beginning in Colesville.
At the crest of the hill, on the right is the entrance to the
state park and on the left is the park visitor center.
Turn left into the visitor center parking lot. Use the
small duck pond in front of the parking lot of the visitor
center as a landmark.
If you start to descend the hill on the other side you have gone
too far.
MONMOUTH
BATTLEFIELD STATE PARK
Meet at the Visitor Center on Business Route 33 west of
Freehold, NJ.
If you are traveling on Route 33 from the west, you
need to watch for the jughandle turn for Business 33 just after
the intersection with Route 527.
From the east, take the Garden State Parkway to reach
Route 33 heading west.
Exit Route 33 at Wemrock Road, which is shortly after the
Route 537 exits.
Turn left from Wemrock onto Business 33 at the traffic
signal. The Visitor Center will be on the right shortly
after this last turn.
OLD MINE ROAD
Bring good walking shoes, in addition to the usual (as
noted in General Information at top).
Travel west on Interstate 80, exiting at Exit 1 (Old Mine Road
exit – the last exit in New Jersey).
Turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp and park near the
(closed) park headquarters building.
PEQUANNOCK
WATERSHED
Get on Route 23 from either I-80 or I-287 and proceed north to
approximately 10 miles from the intersection of I-287 and Route
23.
You will pass through the towns of Butler and Kinnelon/Smoke
Rise and then through a section of winding, curving highway.
Once through this section, you will come to a traffic light
at Echo Lake Road.
Bear right and take the jughandle back across the highway.
After passing over a railroad track, immediately turn
right into a parking lot, where we meet.
SANDY HOOK
From the North: Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 117 and
proceed on Route 36 South for 13 miles to the entrance to Sandy
Hook - Gateway National Recreation Area.
From the South: Take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 105 and
proceed on Route 36 North.
The road will take you in an easterly direction until you
reach Ocean Avenue, where you and Route 36 North both make a
left turn.
Proceed north on Ocean Avenue for 5.5 miles to the entrance
to Sandy Hook - Gateway National Recreation Area.
Once you reach the park: Proceed straight into the park on
Hartshorne Drive. A fee is charged for parking in beach
access lots from 7 AM to 4 PM, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Tell the toll booth attendant that you are visiting the Sandy
Hook Bird Observatory or that you are birding and not parking in
beach access lots, and they will waive the entrance fee. The
only free parking areas are the Visitor Center, Horseshoe Cove
(both lots), Guardian Park, and Fort Hancock.
Most trips at Sandy Hook begin at the Bayberry
Parking Lot, the first one on the
right after you pass the toll/entrance booths.
For Guardian Park, you will continue north 2.5 miles, passing
the Ranger Station (the only building in the center island of
the road).
After another 1.2 miles, bear left along the bay (west) side
as Atlantic Drive forks right on the east side heading to the
beaches.
Continue north on Hartshorne Drive for another 0.8 miles,
bearing right at a fork. You will see the model rockets in
Guardian Park in front of you. Turn right, and then left
into Parking Lot M (Guardian Park).
SUSSEX WEEKEND
All trips leave from the Appalachian Hotel at Mountain Creek,
Vernon, NJ.
Take State Route 23 north.
Turn onto State Route 94 north.
The hotel is 5 miles further, on the right.
WILLOWWOOD
ARBORETUM
From Morristown:
Travel south on Interstate 287 to Exit 22.
Take Route 206 north.
Travel 4 miles to Pottersville Road (Somerset County 512).
Turn left onto Pottersville Road and proceed toward
Pottersville for 0.5 mile.
Turn right onto Lisk Hill Road and continue for 0.1 mile to a
"T" intersection.
Turn right and continue for 0.3 mile. You will come to a "Y".
Turn LEFT at the "Y" onto Longview Road.
The entrance to Willowwood Arboretum is 0.5 mile further, on
the left side of the road.
From the South:
Take the Garden State Parkway north to Exit 127 and follow signs
for Interstate 287.
Travel north on Interstate 287 to Exit 22B(about 22 miles).
Take Route 206 north.
Travel 4 miles to Pottersville Road (Somerset County 512).
Turn left onto Pottersville Road and follow the directions
above.
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