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Blair Creek Preserve



Blair Creek Preserve ©Dwight Hiscano
Blair Creek Preserve © Dwight Hiscano

Why You Should Visit
Located a mere hour’s drive from New York City, Blair Creek Preserve lies in one of New Jersey’s few remaining swaths of matrix forests—large contiguous woodlands with natural wetlands and minimal development. Spanning nearly 500 acres, the preserve is part of the Swartswood matrix forest block. This natural area spans more than 100,000 acres in northwestern New Jersey and is home to black bear and bobcat. Numerous neotropical song birds find habitat in the deep forest interior, as well.

Location
Hardwick Township, Sussex County and Stillwater Township, Warren County
480 acres

Hours
The preserve is open from dawn until dusk. The preserve is closed seasonally for a controlled white-tail deer hunt.

Visitation Guidelines

  • No swimming, camping, fires, or alcoholic beverages.
  • Littering and dumping are prohibited.
  • No collecting or trapping.
    Motorized vehicles are prohibited.

Trails
Informal trails wind through the fields and forests.

What to See: Plants
Several state-rare plants are found here as well as unique wetland communities.

What to See: Animals
The deep interior forest of Blair Creek Preserve offers resting and feeding grounds for a host of increasingly threatened neotropical migratory songbirds. Black bear and bobcat also find habitat here.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Blair Creek Preserve plays a significant role protecting the lands and waters of the Skylands. Protection of this property helps form an uninterrupted greenway with the nearby 70,000 acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Blair Creek Preserve is home to one of the Skylands last remaining stands of intact forest.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Threatened by encroaching development, the Conservancy has worked to safeguard this critical matrix forest through land acquisition and creative partnerships with local land trusts including the Ridge and Valley Conservancy as well as nearby landowners.  Science staff are working to control the impact of white tail deer browse as well as the spread of invasive species which negatively impact the ecological health of this stunning natural area.