Visit
Why You Should Visit
Adjacent to northwestern New Jersey’s Delaware Water Gap national recreation area, the Blair Creek Nature Preserve sits nestled at the base of the Kittatinny Ridge, only miles from the Delaware River. A series of trails lead from a gravel parking lot through deciduous forest to beaver ponds, rocky streams, and expansive wetland meadows. The nature preserve’s forests are home to breeding cerulean warblers and many of the nesting warblers that make the Kittatinny Ridge a well-known birding location. Signs of black bears and coyotes dot the trails throughout the preserve.
What to See
- Shagbark Hickory can be seen throughout the preserve. It provides important roosting sites for bats under the flaking bark.
- Keep an eye out for bear claw marks on American beech trees. Bears climb the trees to feed on beechnuts!
- Vernal pools throughout the preserve provide a habitat for many amphibians and reptiles for spawning.
- Ducks, loons and other migratory birds are often sighted at Fairview Lake.
- Fall colors are spectacular along the wetland and Kittattinny Ridge.
Visitation Guidelines
- No swimming, camping, fires, or alcoholic beverages.
- Littering and dumping are prohibited.
- No collecting or trapping.
- Motorized vehicles are prohibited.
- Do not launch boats from the preserve onto Fairview Lake; no shoreline or ice fishing.
The preserve is open from dawn until dusk. To help protect the forest, TNC works with a local hunting club to reduce deer numbers to sustainable levels.
Please note: The preserve is closed Monday-Saturday from early September to the end of January due to hunting. Sundays are open to the public during the hunting season.
