Environmental Center

ESSEX COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AN CULTURAL AFFAIRS 
Saturday, June 14, 2025
1st ANNUAL GET OUTDOORS AND NATIONAL TRAILS DAY

9am to 1pm (plus limited PM activities)

Celebrate National Trails Day with the Essex County Parks Department! 
A variety of hikes for all ages and abilities will be offered in select Essex County Parks locations, led by the Essex County Environmental Center, Essex County Turtle Back Zoo and our partner organizations—South Mountain Conservancy, Hilltop Conservancy, Eagle Rock Conservancy with Sierra Club’s Essex Chapter, Branch Brook Park Alliance, NYNJ Trail Conference, NJ Native Plant Society, Essex Chapter and the New York City Parks Department’s Greenbelt Native Plant Center. 
FREE

LED BY ESSEX COUNTY PARKS – Environmental Center Staff

Join Essex County Environmental Center Naturalists for Guided Trail Hikes For all ages.  Meet a naturalist guide at one of our trailheads to learn more about our Essex County Parks System and the many opportunities available for exploration. We’ll gather for a welcome introduction and enjoy a guided forest trail walk. Bring or make a friend, gain confidence in your outdoor skills, get back to nature and enjoy some fresh air and exercise!   

Essex County South Mountain Reservation
Time: 9am to 10:30am
Meet at: South Mountain Dog Park, Bear Lane, Millburn, NJ 07040 
Distance: 1.5 hours, 3 miles, Intermediate Level
For all ages.  Led by Essex County Environmental Center Senior Naturalist David Alexander and John Bylancik of the South Mountain Conservancy.  We’ll begin at the Dog Park, walk through Summit Field and take the Ball’s Bluff Trail down to the Rahway River to cool off at Hemlock Falls before returning on an ascent along Hemlock Brook to return to the Summit Trail and our starting point. We’ll search around for birds, butterflies, blooms and other natural wonders along the way.  REGISTER HERE

Essex County Hilltop Reservation
Time: 11:30am to 1pm
Meet at:  Hilltop Dog Park, Courter Lane, North Caldwell, NJ 07006
Distance: 1.5 hours, 2.5 miles, Intermediate Level
For all ages.  Led by Essex County Environmental Center Senior Naturalist David Alexander and joined by Chris Lawrence of the Hilltop Conservancy.  We’ll begin at Courter Lane and follow the Arrowhead Trail uphill to the site of the historic Essex Mountain Sanitorium. The area has been converted to a wildlife habitat and wildflower meadow by the Hilltop Conservancy. We’ll search around for birds, butterflies, blooms and other natural wonders before returning to the trailhead. REGISTER HERE

Essex County Mills Reservation
Time: 11:30am to 1:15pm
Meet at: Normal Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07006
If the parking lot is full, you are permitted to park across the street in the residential neighborhood.
Distance: 1.5 hours, 2.2 miles, Intermediate Level
For adults and families with children ages 10 and older. Led by Essex County Environmental Center Naturalist Maura Toomey and New York New Jersey Trail Conference Volunteer Dan D’Errico.  This hike is a combination of rocky trails and flat woods roads. We will hike on a portion of the famous 34-mile-long Lenape trail which winds its way throughout Essex County. Highlights of this hike are a hawk watch, a mysterious cement pad, occasional views of Manhattan and the history of Mills Reservation itself. REGISTER HERE

Essex County Eagle Rock Reservation
Time: 9:30am to 11am & 11:30am to 1pm
Meet at: Eagle Rock Meadow, Crest Drive, West Orange, NJ 07052
Distance: 1.5 hours, 1.5 miles, Intermediate Level
For all ages.  Led by Essex County Environmental Center Naturalist Heather Amendolara. We’ll begin on the Crosswood Bridal Path before connecting with the blue trail to reach a stone bridge over a stream that is the headwaters of the Peckman River. We’ll discover nature and explore a stream and interesting basalt rock outcrop of the Watchung Mountain range known as the sleeping giant. We’ll return by way of the Green Trail as we parallel the stream to connect with the purple blazed Glen Bridal Path to return to the trailhead.   REGISTER HERE

LED BY ESSEX COUNTY PARKS – Turtle Back Zoo

Essex County Orange Reservoir, South Mountain Reservation
Time: 9am to 10:30am and 11am to 12:30pm
Meet at: Clipper Pavilion on Orange Reservoir, Cherry Lane, West Orange, NJ 07052, Parking at Regatta Playground Parking Lot
Distance: 1.5hours, 2miles, Beginner Level
For families with children ages 6 and older. Led by Essex County Turtle Back Zoo Educator Katie Fenyar. Join us for an exciting outdoor adventure as we explore nature on a gentle hike. Get outside and leisurely explore all the wild things around the Orange Reservoir.  REGISTER HERE

LED BY NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY, ESSEX CHAPTER 

Nature Walk in Essex County Eagle Rock Meadow at Eagle Rock Reservation
Time: 9am to 10am
Meet at: Eagle Rock Meadow, Crest Drive, West Orange, NJ 07052
Distance: 1 hour; Easy (wood chip flat path; ½ mile)
For adults and families with children ages 10 and older.  Led by Deb Ellis from the New Jersey Native Plant Society, Essex Chapter.  The Eagle Rock Meadow is an oasis of native plants near the 9/11 Memorial. On this guided nature walk with Native Plant Society naturalists, you’ll learn about the native plants that live in the meadow and how they support our pollinators and birds. REGISTER HERE

Nature Walk to Turtle Back Rock, Essex County South Mountain Reservation
Time: 11:30am to 1pm
Meet at: South Mountain Reservation, Turtle Back Rock Parking Lot, Walker Road Entrance 
Distance: 1.5 hours, 1 mile loop, Beginner Level
For adults and families with children ages 6 and older. Led by Deb Ellis of the New Jersey Native Plant Society, Essex Chapter.  Walk an easy, gently sloping trail with roots and stones. Situated on the bluff above Northfield Avenue, Turtle Back Rock not only resembles a turtle, but it also has a grooved surface like the top of a turtle shell, formed from cooling lava 200 million years ago! On this guided nature walk with Native Plant Society NJ naturalists, we will hike to Turtle Back Rock through a mixed oak forest, identifying trees and plants along the way and learning why native plants are so important to our eco-system. Bring your kids to learn why the zoo has its name! We will have one group specifically for kids (with less “nature talk”).   REGISTER HERE

LED BY NEW YORK NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE

Essex County Mills Reservation
Time: 9am to 10:45am
Meet at: Normal Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009
If the parking lot is full, you are permitted to park across the street in the residential neighborhood.
Distance: 1.5 hours, 2.2 miles, Intermediate Level
For adults and families with children ages 10 and older. Led by New York New Jersey Trail Conference Volunteer Dan D’Errico.  This hike is a combination of rocky trails and flat woods roads. We will hike on a portion of the famous 34-mile-long Lenape trail which winds its way throughout Essex County. Highlights of this hike are a hawk watch, a mysterious cement pad, occasional views of Manhattan and the history of Mills Reservation itself.  
REGISTER HERE

Essex County Hilltop Reservation
Time: 9:30am to 11am
Meet at: Essex County Robert J O’Toole Community Center, 199 Fairview Ave, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009
Distance: 1.5 hours, 2.5 miles, Intermediate Level
For ages 10 to 100. Led by New York New Jersey Trail Conference Volunteer Dave DeShazer.  Hike the Lenape Trail in Hilltop Reservation   Historic Hilltop has transformed in recent years with parks, playgrounds and the Hilltop Reservation thanks to the efforts of Essex County, Hilltop Conservancy and many others.  This hike will start from the West Parking lot by the O'Toole Community Center, cross into Cedar Grove Park and quickly climb into Hilltop Reservation.  The hike will follow sometimes narrow mixed-use trails and remnants of blacktop roads from Hilltop's past.  At the southernmost point, we'll cross the native plant Meadow, and loop back to the community center parking lot.  REGISTER HERE

LED BY NEW JERSEY CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB

Essex County Eagle Rock Reservation

Adult Hikes
Time: 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm (45 minutes each hike)
Meet at: Eagle Rock Meadow, Crest Drive, West Orange, NJ 07052
Distance: 45 minutes, 1 mile, Beginner Level
Led by Ron Pate of the Eagle Rock Conservancy and the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club Gateway Group. 
Enjoy a day with your family and friends to connect with nature! This event is limited to 25 people.
Pre-registration required here:   https://sc.org/eaglerockoutdoorsday 
If the event is at capacity email leader Ron Pate at pate31@verizon.net   to be placed on the waiting list.   

Family Hikes with children 8 years and older
Time: 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm (45 minutes each hike)
Meet at: Eagle Rock Meadow, Crest Drive, West Orange, NJ 07052 
Distance: 45 minutes, 1 mile, Beginner Level
Enjoy a day with your family on guided walks with Gray Russell, an environmentalist and one of the early leaders of Sustainable Jersey, and Dr. Kirk Barrett, expert on local water issues and President of the Rahway River Watershed Association. 
Pre-registration is required here: https://sc.org/eaglerockoutdoorsday 
If the event is at capacity email leader Ron Pate at pate31@verizon.net   to be placed on the waiting list. 

LED BY SOUTH MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY

Essex County SOUTH MOUNTAIN RESERVATION – Strawberry Moon Night Hike
Time: 8pm to 10:15 pm
Meet at:  Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex, Clipper Pavilion Parking Lo, Cherry Lane, West Orange, 07052. Meet along the Orange Reservoir Waterfront.
Distance: 3.5 mile, Intermediate Level
For adults and families with Children ages 15 and older. Join South Mountain Conservancy Director Dennis Percher for a moderately paced hike with some hills leading to the Turtle Back Picnic area and back. Bring a flashlight or a headlamp as sunset is at 8:28pm. 
Pre-registration required here:   Meetup site. (opens early June)

LED BY NYC PARKS GREENBELT NATIVE PLANT CENTER 

Seed Collection and Ecology at Essex County South Mountain Reservation
Time: 10am to 12:30pm
Meet at: Locust Grove Parking Lot, Millburn, NJ 07041 (Fairy Trail Lot) 
Distance: 2-2.5 hours, Moderate Level
For Ages 14 and older.  Meet for a hike through the various habitats at South Mountain Reservation.  Employees of the Greenbelt Native Plant Center will discuss native plant and bird species along the trail.  They will also discuss seed collection and Greenbelt Native Plant Center's role in seed-based restoration in the NYC metro region.  If the timing is right, hikers may be able to participate in a seed collection.  REGISTER HERE

LED BY BRANCH BROOK PARK ALLIANCE

ESSEX COUNTY BRANCH BROOK PARK
The Olmsted Trek: Trails, Trees & Tranquility
Time: 8am to 9:30am (followed by complimentary yoga session)
Meet at: Essex County Branch Brook, Prudential Concert Grove, Branch Brook Park Drive, Newark, NJ 07104
Distance: 3.5 miles, 1.5hours, Moderate Level
For adults and families with children ages 10 and older. Led by Branch Brook Park Alliance President Thomas Dougherty. Start your morning with intention and movement as we explore 3.5 miles of Essex County Branch Brook Park’s most iconic landscapes. This flat, brisk-paced hike begins at 8am at the Olmsted Bust in Prudential Concert Grove, winding through three of the park’s four divisions, including a two-mile loop on the rubberized Lenape Trail. Along the way, discover the park’s rich horticulture and historical design from our expert guide while taking in the beauty of its native flora and fauna. After your walk, stay for a complimentary yoga session at 10am to center your body and spirit in nature. 
Pre-registration required here:   www.branchbrookpark.org/wellness  

For more information, email David Alexander at dalexander@parks.essexcountynj.org