Shipetaukin Woods Trail

Route 569, Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey

Directions:

NJ Turnpike to exit 7A for US 195 west; take US 295 north to US 95 heading toward Pennsylvania; get off at Exit 7 for Route 206 north; drive 2.0 miles to just beyond the mile 50 green mileage marker; turn left for Carter Road (Route 569); drive 1.3 miles up Carter Road (Route 569) and just past Carson Road on the right, turn left into the entrance by the Green Acres funding signs; drive to the end of the entrance road and park on the left.  The trail begins from the end of the entrance road. 

Trails:

5/04/2005.  Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I had good walking weather  -- overcast and a little cool.  Trail begins at a telephone pole power cut. There are markers letting you know there is a red-blazed trail and a yellow-blazed trail.  Walk through the field and into the woods.  The yellow trail goes straight;  the red trail goes left; and the silver trail? goes off to the right.  The trail is wet and muddy.  Reach a picnic table and benches set across the trail by a second intersection of the red and yellow trails.  We continued straight on what we thought was the continuation of the yellow trail but we soon noticed that there were no yellow markers.  We got to small stream and turned back to the second intersection mentioned earlier.  Turned left to follow the red trail.  The red trail makes a loop and bring the walker back to the first intersection of the red and yellow trails.  From here we turned right and walked back to the car by heading across the field.  The walk was not a long one  -- maybe a half hour.  I guess you could extend it by going further and crossing the stream.  Did not see any private property signs.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

* = blooming on date of field trip, 5/04/2005

Trees:
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)  *
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Ilex opaca (American holly)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum)
Magnolia sp. (magnolia) big leaves
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (apple) *
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)

Shrubs:
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)  *soon
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)  -- hairy leaves
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)  *soon

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress)  *
Cardamine rhomboidea (cuckoo flower)  *
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle)
Claytonia virginica (spring beauty)   lots and lots *
Epifagus virginiana (beech drops)
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Erythronium americanum (trout lily)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Glechoma hederacea (gill-over-the-ground) *
Impatiens sp. (jewelweed)
Lamium purpureum (purple dead nettle)  *
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Podophyllum peltatum (may apple) 
Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved tearthumb)
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Solidago sp. (goldenrod)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Viola sororia (common blue violet) *

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
(bamboo)

Ferns:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)