Hoffman Park
Pattenburg, Union Township, Hunterdon County,. NJ
353 acres
west of Clinton and just south of Interstate 78; The gate is open from 9 a.m. to sunset.

Directions:

from the East/Clinton Area:
Take US 78 west to exit 11. Follow the circle around to the left and cross over US 78, following the signs for Pattenburg. Immediately after crossing US 78, turn left at the light. At the fork in the road go right onto Baptist Church Road. Drive 0.3 of a mile and proceed under a railroad bridge; drive another 0.6 of a mile and turn left into the park entrance, which is marked by a large brown sign.

History:

late 1930's  --  Albert and Joyce Hoffman began acquiring tracts of land in order to establish a farm. Mr. Hoffman and his two brothers owned the Hoffman Beverage Company, which was founded by their father, and made among other beverages the popular Orange Crush. Their reputation for distributing many varieties of beverages, earned Mr. Hoffman the nickname: the "soda-pop king". They owned land in four other townships and in the Nassau, Bahamas, where they lived from December until late June every year. (In 1946 Pabst Brewing purchased the Hoffman Brewing Company in Newark, NJ.)

The pastures on the farms were rented to farmers on a monthly fee per animal. Most of the Hoffmans' farm buildings still stand.

2002 (May 28) --  the Freeholder board approved a bond ordinance to spend one million dollars to acquire 82 acres to add to Hoffman Park and  87.7 acres to add to Tower Hill Park (and an additional seven acre parcel for Tower Hill Park).

Habitats:

hardwood forest, streams, wetlands, grasslands, and 32 ponds

Wildlife:

deer, coyote and fox, and birds (bobolink, American kestrel, bluebird, Eastern meadowlark, Northern harrier, nesting Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Willow Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole)

Source: Tom Brown Jr. "Tracking Wildlife in Hoffman Park"; http://www.njskylands.com/odtracking.htm); and http://www.njaudubon.org/Centers/Scherman/SummerDirections.html

Facilities:

hiking, nature study, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, fishing, hunting

Trails:

The trail starts from the parking area. At the start of the trail there is a great view of the surrounding area: Hoffman Park's fields and forests, Spruce Run and the hills of the Highlands in the distance. Hairpin Lane heads down a steep hill to the bottom heading towards Manny's Pond.  From here the trails head through woods.

(Source: http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/depts/parks/guides/Hoffman.htm)

5/15/04.  This is a very beautiful area.  The parking lot is on the top of the hill and one sees good views toward the northeast (Spruce Run Reservoir).  The old house is off limits, but one can follow the asphalt roads around the area.  (They provide a trail map at the kiosk.)  We walked down to Manny Pond (visible across wide open fields from the parking area).  Proceeded along the asphalt roads to circle the pond area and then returned the way we came to the parking lot.  There are lots of other routes one can take. (My son Carl saw a red fox here.)

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = blooming on 5/15/04

Trees:
Acer negundo (box elder maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharinum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (grey birch)
Carya spp. (hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) *
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry) *
Pyrus sp. (crab apple) *
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive) *
Rhus sp. (sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry) *
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (black berry)
Vaccinium stamineum (deerberry) *
Viburnum dentatum (downy arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)

Vines:
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet) *
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia  (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp., (grape)
Wisteria sp. (lilac wisteria) *

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Antennaria plantaginifolia (plantain-leaved pussytoes) *
Apocynum sp. (dogbane)
Arctium sp. (burdock)
Arisaema triphyllum (jack in the pulpit)
Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress) *
Cerastium vulgatum (mouse-ear chickweed) *
Claytonia virginica (spring beauty) *
Collinsonia canadensis (horsebalm)
Conopholis americana (squawroot)
Daucus carota (wild carrot)
Elodea sp. (elodea)
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) *
Galium mollugo (wild madder)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium) *
Glechoma hederacea (gill-over-the-ground) *
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny daylily)
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) *
Hieracium piloselloides (smooth hawkweed) *
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed)
Krigia biflora (two-flowered Cynthia) *
Lespedeza sp. (bush clover)
Lotus corniculatus (bird foot trefoil) *
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Lycopus virginicus (Virginia bugleweed)
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Podophyllum peltatum (may apple) *
Polygonatum sp. (true Solomon's seal) *
Polygonum arifolium (halberd-leaved tearthumb)
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb)
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Potentilla argentea (silvery cinquefoil) *
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) *
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil) *
Ranunculus acris (tall buttercup) *
Rumex acetosella (field sorrel)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad leaved dock)
Smilacina racemosa (false Solomon's seal) * soon
Stellaria media (chickweed) *
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
Trifolium repens (white clover)  *
Veronica serpyllifolia (thyme-leaved speedwell) *
Viola sp. (violet)

Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush) *
Luzula multiflora (wood rush)

Sedges:
Carex crinita (sedge)
Carex sp. (sedge)
Carex vulpinoidea (sedge)
Eleocharis sp. (spike rush)

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Glyceria sp. (mannagrass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass) *

Fern and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)