ROARING ROCK PARK
Washington Township, Warren County, NJ
401 acres

Directions:

Entrance is on the left side of the Brass Castle-Harmony Road (Route 647) just 0.6 of a mile southwest of the intersection of Route 647 and Brass Castle Road (Route 623).  The area is located on both sides of Brass Castle-Harmony Road and also Brass Castle Road.

History:

1999  -- property purchased from the New Jersey American Water Company.

Habitats:

woods; pond; Brass Castle Creek (fishing allowed).

Trails:

A 1.9 mile challenging hiking trail (white diamond markers)  with two creek crossings; reaches a “summit” (975 ft. elevation) of the southern section (223 acres).

The blue diamond marked hiking trail is found in the easterly area headed to the summit (0.8 mile).

There is also an “easy” trail.

If you go to the right, the distances are:
Pond (.1 mile)
Meadow (.8 mile)
Summit (1.3 miles)
Parking (1.9 miles)

If you go left, the distances are:
Blue Trailhead (.1 mile)
Summit (.6 mile)
Meadow (.9 mile)
Parking (1.9 mile)

4/19/2003.  Rosemary, Snuffy and I took a short walk down to the stream. There is a bridge that crosses it to keep going on the white trail (also start of blue trail is here).  Went upstream a bit to a small lake.  The dam says erected 1915. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plants in bloom, 4/19/2003

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple) *
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Ostrya occidentalis (eastern hop hornbeam)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (sycamore)
Quercus alba (white oak)

Shrubs:
Alnus sp. (alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Corylus sp. (hazel) *
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) *
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera japonicas (Japanese honeysuckle)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Anemonella thalictroides (rue anemone) *
Erythronium americanum (trout lily) *
Fragaria sp. (strawberry)
Galium sp. (bedstraw)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Potentilla sp. (cinquefoil)
Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot) *
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot) *
Veratrum viride (swamp hellebore)

Ferns:
Equisetum hyemale (common scouring rush)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)