Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Harding Township

If you're a hiker, Great Swamp is probably not at the top of your list; it doesn't have varying terrain and more often than not you're jumping around puddles or worse unless you have the safety/dryness of the boardwalks to fall back on. It's a different type of crowd - mostly older individuals with binoculars who can often be found on benches with their eyes closed listening to the frogs and birds. A more cerebral people than the ones you find on mountains. I've ended up at Great Swamp a handful of times over the years and I'm not crazy about it - more than once I've gotten a significant percentage of my lower half wet and birds are just not my wildlife optic jam. But this was honestly the best visit I've had, in no small part due to excellent weather and the aforementioned boardwalks; it's a lot easier to enjoy a swamp when you're not in it.

I came here with my chum and Honorary Young Pup on Labor Day. There were a decent number of people about, but nothing egregious; there was enough parking and it didn't feel claustrophobic on the boardwalks/trails. We ended up meeting at the Wildlife Observation Center off of Long Hill Road; my debut - I think every other time I've started off at a more informal trailhead or the Visitor's Center. I was immediately impressed when I got there and saw the kiosks and nearby buildings (including a decent restroom option - always a plus); this was not the boggy meadows I was accustomed to. Also a nice bonus, there was actually a decent inventory of paper maps available, which is not as common as it should be.

We let the Honorary Young Pup lead the way, and ended up going on every trail in this section and visiting every blind (I imagine a lot of visitors do that - it's not a ton of mileage and very easy to navigate). The worst section by far was the first one we did on our way to the Garden Club Blind. We both inexplicably forgot bug spray and were eaten alive, to the point where I pulled a massive desperation move and asked a few people we encountered if they had any we could borrow (the answer was no). It's the swampiest section but DOES have some cool optics, especially with the way the sun was seeping into the bog. Lot of mossy tree goodness. The Garden Club was my favorite of the blinds; pleasant and cool, and afforded some cool views of a meadow, though we didn't see too much wildlife on our quick visit.

I'm not sure if the mosquitos just felt sorry for us or had their fill, but they weren't nearly as much of an issue anywhere else. The area right before the Sportsman Blind was pretty cool - it had some nice water features that allowed for little turtle and frog sightings, along with a giant snapping turtle that we initially mistook for a mossy rock (another visitor thankfully alerted us to it). That section also understandably was the busiest, though it was still easy to secure a spot by the railing to view the surrounding area. And the Friends Blind was peaceful but not quite as "blind" - there was no covering shelter and it was just an open air platform. Not a ton to see at least when we were there; it reminded me a lot of some of the viewpoints in Cheesequake, pleasant meadows but nothing really mind-blowing in my opinion.

Still not a huge fan of the Swamp but this is literally the only area I would recommend to a newcomer, especially if the recent weather...

I had such a nice time at the Great Swamp NWR! I visited the Wilderness Observation Center at 220 Long Hill Road in Basking Ridge. The center itself is a one room staff building, so do not expect a visitor center there (there is a visitor center at 32 Pleasant Plains Road). But the woman working there when I went was super knowledgeable and gave me some good information to plan my walk. There are about 2 miles of boardwalk trails to walk on. The park has many more miles of regular trails also. I spent several hours walking the boardwalks with my camera and saw so much wildlife! The slower you walk and the more you look, the more you start noticing that there are interesting things everywhere. They have several blinds for observing wildlife. There are a number of signs along the way that have information about species of animal that can be seen. I would rate this as one of my top nature experiences in New Jersey and I can’t wait to go back! Highly recommend visit this amazing place. I’m also looking forward to visiting the nearby Raptor Trust and Lord Sterling Environmental Education Center, both within a...

We'll, this is special. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is Jersey's Everglades. A tremendous amount of wildlife frequent this place. It is accessable to humans by a series of board walks constructed through this vast swamp near Morristown. The paths lead to blinds where a myriad of bird species congregate during certain times of the year. And along the two miles of paths overlooking the swamp, amphibians, reptiles and mammals can also be seen, not to mention insects. In the beginning of March and in the afternoon, the flora and fauna were laying low, along with insects that could harass you. But the scenery was dramatic. The Great Swamp is also less than two miles from the Raptor Trust where injured birds of prey are nurtured and on display. And a mega herd of docile wild turkeys freely wander...