Passaic River Trail
Long Hill Township, Morris County, New Jersey
Directions:
US 78 west to exit 36 for King George north; at the intersection of King George Road, turn right onto Valley Road (Route 512); drive 0.2 of a mile and turn right into a small parking area (immediately adjacent to the east end of the small bridge over the Passaic River).
Or:
US 80 west to US 287 south; get off at Exit 26 for Mount Airy Road; left turn onto Mount Airy Road; drive 1.3 miles and turn right onto Lyons Road; Lyons Road becomes Valley Road (Route 512); follow Valley Road (passing Pleasant Valley Park on the left); at the intersection with King George Road drive 0.2 of a mile and turn right into a small parking area (immediately adjacent to the east end of the small bridge over the Passaic River).
History:
Two branches of the Great Minisink Trail of the Native Americans once linked the shore and the Delaware Water Gap. The trail ran along the Passaic River in Morris, Union and Essex counties.
1970 -- the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Passaic the second worst river in the nation.
A group of residents organized a project to create a hiking trail along the Passaic River.
2000 (December) -- the first 3.5 mile segment was laid out.
2001 (April) -- they started to place trail markers.
2001 (summer) -- the first portion of the trail opened.
Read more on the Passaic River Trail page.
http://www.longhillnj.org/lht/recreati.htm
There are other plans to improve the river, including plans to rehabilitate a one-mile section of the path on the Berkeley Heights side of the river in that section of the river that passes through Berkeley Heights and Chatham Township. (Gabriel H. Gluck, Star-Ledger Staff, November 03, 2002; http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/2002/gs021106.php)
Trails:
11/04/04. The trail parallels the eastern bank of the Passaic River here. Theoretically it should be an easy path to follow because it is a single path, but they have not been removing the trees that have fallen over the trail and there are informal trails going around the obstacles. The multiflora rose here does not form big thickets as in many other places, but there are enough of them spread around to be a hassle for walkers. I did a lot of trimming back of the thorny branches and, of course, paying the price with lots of skin pricks. (For my pains, I got blood smeared on my plant list). The trick is to cut as low on the stems as possible. There was not much change in the habitat as I walked along the riverside, so I did not go all that far. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant found in bloom on date of field trip, 11/04/04
Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Betula nigra (river birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak) lots
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)
Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) l
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) lots
Rubus sp. (black berry)
Staphylea trifolia (bladdernut)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)
Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax sp. (greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster spp. (aster)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy)
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Cirsium vulgaris (bull thistle)
Coronilla varia (crown vetch)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink)
Erigeron sp. (fleabane)
Galium aparine (cleavers)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Iris sp. (iris)
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Lycopus sp. (bugleweed)
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort)
Penstemon sp. (beardtongue)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum spp. (smartweed)
Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion)
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Verbena hastata (blue vervain)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain)
Rushes:
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered sedge type)
Carex intumescens (bladder sedge)
Carex typhina (cattail sedge)
Grasses:
Cinna arundinacea (wood reed grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Elymus sp. (wild rye grass)
Elytrigia repens (quack grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue panic grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)