Rutgers University Ecological Preserve — Attraction in Piscataway Township

This place is incredible! Even more spectacular and isolated than Rutgers Gardens, this place has many MILES of hiking trails, in it, through woods, meadows, across streams (on wooden plank bridges or on cement blocks, laid high in the water), or along ridges overlooking beautiful, wooded ravines (almost like small canyons). And each trail is clearly marked with different colors, and there are several places where you can see them all on maps, posted throughout the Preserve. This place stretches from the intersection of River Road and Cedar Lane, all the way to the circle on the edge of the Livingston Campus, of Rutgers University. And the Preserve sits on the border of Highland Park, Edison and Piscataway, encompassing parts of all 3 municipalities, roughly between Cedar Lane and Route 18, and between River Road, and former roads in Camp Kilmer, less than a mile from the Edison DMV, and abutting the Livingston Campus (as I said before), and also close to the Busch Campus, of Rutgers University. It's now a real nice area, once partly an army training and ammo dump in WWII, it has been left to be overgrown and untouched, and most of it is returning to a state of wilderness, such as once existed in this part of North America, thousands of years ago. It is TRULY an ECOLOGICAL PRESERVE, and I LOVE IT, in there!!! Perhaps you don't like tying on your hiking boots, putting on tough denim jeans, and a down jacket with several layers and some gloves, and then trundling through the wilderness in the cold blasts of frigid air and through the mud that we've had here recently in Jersey this November, but I do...it was nice, stomping through the bramble patches, hurling heavy branches off the trails (so as not to block them anymore), resting on fallen logs, and enjoying the spectacular scenery of this pristine wilderness, and this PRICELESS and VERY RARE (around here, that is), Ecological Preserve. Perhaps, YOU will ENJOY it,...

The Rutgers University Ecological Preserve is an amazing place to check out any time of year. I went during the recent changing of the leaves in the fall season. Please check out the photos which I have attached. It is a place for many students and local residents go to enjoy nature and tranquility. You can hear many different birds as well as other forms of wildlife during the year track through the various trails in the preserve. I went with a few friends including one who was also in a wheelchair. It is a little tricky navigating during the fall as some of the ground is still a little damp. It is not an easy trail so if you are in a manual chair prepared to do some heavy pushing. I am in a power chair so it was a little easier. There are some places that you will have to go slow or may opt to turn around. It is easy to get stuck if you are not careful. I would recommend traveling with someone else in case you need assistance. In our case we reached the end of the trail when we could not go over a small stream that did not have a usable bridge. There are a lot of other trails than individual can check out again if you have a disability please use your judgment and preferably bring someone in case there are any issues.

There are no restrooms available as far as I saw. I believe the University is looking to make these trails more accessible in the future. When they do I will add...

Beautifully restored woodland and watershed. It was the perfect place to teach a toddler a love for nature, especially in a year in which COVID foreclosed so many other opportunities for travel. So many of New Jersey's waterways are polluted, dammed, and cramped with unattractive housing, and this is a wonderful exception. We especially loved seeing such a wide variety of ecosystems in a small area. I posted this review at the southern trailhead, and I'm posting it here as well! Thank you to Rutgers and the volunteer team, whoever you are!!...