Regions Served

D&R Greenway Land Trust is working to create a regional greenway made up of a network of smaller greenways. This greenway network stretches across central New Jersey, from the Sourland Mountain to the Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh and covers a 1,500 square-mile region. Spanning six counties, it includes all of Mercer County and parts of Burlington, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth and Somerset counties. It includes parts of the watersheds of the Delaware, Raritan and Millstone Rivers. In addition, D&R Greenway Land Trust is working in Salem County in the southern tip of New Jersey. This area is rich in Revolutionary and Civil War era homes, and only a 20 minute drive to Wilmington Delaware.

Click here for maps of the areas protected by D&R Greenway Land Trust. It can be divided into six geographic regions:

Delaware & Raritan Canal Greenway
Serving as the spine of our region, the canal frames our area of focus and provides recreational and scenic benefits. It also has a great deal of historic value. The Delaware & Raritan Canal was built to provide a swift and safe route from Philadelphia to New York City. Completed in 1834 for $2.8 million, it quickly became one of America's busiest navigation canals. Its peak years were the 1860s and 1870s when Pennsylvania coal was transported through the D&R Canal to feed New York City's industrial boom. This Industrial Age engineering marvel still serves as an important part of life in central New Jersey, as a source of drinking water and a state park.


Sourland Mountain Greenway
Underlain with diabase geology, the Sourlands remain largely undeveloped and still retain the natural character they held 300 years ago when Native Americans inhabited this region. Heavily wooded and remote, this area has potential as a major natural reserve, with contiguous woodlands and grasslands critical to the survival of neotropical migrant birds and other rare species of plants and animals. D&R Greenway Land Trust's partner in Mexico, Rainforest2Reef, formerly Amigos de Calakmul, protects bird habitat at the southern end of the migratory flyway. D&R Greenway Land Trust maintains two preserves with trails along this greenway: the Northern Stony Brook Preserve and Cedar Ridge (see New Jersey Trails Association). A concept for a 20-mile trail is underway as land is preserved and trails are developed. Please see Trail Runs East from Hunterdon County. As of December 2007, D&R Greenway has preserved close to 4,370 acres in the Sourlands.

Delaware River Greenway
Waterways and bluffs that contribute to the Delaware River watershed range from highly scenic, cascading streams in Hunterdon County including the Lockatong, Wickecheoke and Alexauken creeks, to meandering waterways including Woolsey Brook, the Shipetaukin, and the Assunpink that flow through farm fields and suburban communities in Mercer County.

Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh
In the heart of the urban core of central New Jersey with some 2.5 million people lies the Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown (HTB) Marsh. This 1,250-acre wetland complex extends from the Delaware River up the Crosswicks and Watson Creeks. More than three-quarters of the Marsh lies within the Abbott Farm National Historic Landmark, New Jersey's first archeological landmark designated in 1976 because of its "exceptional historical value." The Marsh provides significant educational and recreational opportunities as a critical habitat for more than 1,200 documented plant and animal species. D&R Greenway Land Trust has a long history of land preservation and public education in the Marsh area. The Friends for the Marsh was formed in 2002, under the aegis of D&R Greenway Land Trust, to expand educational and outdoor programs and develop a nature center. A new nature center has been opened. Please check Friends for the Marsh for further information.

Blacks & Crosswicks Creek Greenways
More recent urban projects include the Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek projects in partnership with the City of Bordentown, PSE&G, and The Nature Conservancy. The Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek are Delaware River tributaries whose headwaters originate on the NJ coastal plain and flow westward, joining the Delaware River at the southern end of the HTB Marsh near the City of Bordentown. These two watersheds create urban greenways, flowing through parts of three counties: Mercer, Monmouth and Burlington and six municipalities: Bordentown, Chesterfield, Hamilton, Trenton, Upper Freehold, and Millstone. These stream corridors are rich in both Native American and Revolutionary War history and are important in the Crossroads of the American Revolution, linking the Delaware River to the historic Allentown area. The Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek watersheds include extensive freshwater tidal wetlands which are extremely important nursery and breeding areas for anadromous fish including striped bass, American eels, blue back herring, American shad and the NJ endangered shortnose sturgeon. The mix of marshes, forest and tidal wetlands provide habitat for migratory ducks and shorebirds, neotropical migrant forest birds and threatened and endangered species such as the bald eagle and osprey.

Upper Millstone River Greenway
The Millstone River flows north to New Brunswick. The watershed ranges from wooded wilderness to a greenway around the more heavily-populated Princeton community. It includes Stony Brook, Beden's Brook, Simonson Brook and other small waterways. One of D&R Greenway Land Trust's first preservation acquisitions, the Institute Lands, lies in this region and contains well-maintained woodland trails.

Neshanic-South Branch Raritan River Greenway
The Raritan and Neshanic Rivers flows across the northern edge of the broader greenway network. It is a densely populated area that benefits from the efforts of D&R Greenway Land Trust through linkages and connections of open spaces. The Kanach farm, protected by Branchburg Township with assistance from D&R Greenway Land Trust, is a good example of the heavily threatened open space remaining in this region.

Plum Brook Greenway - An Emerging Greenway - check back soon for photos and copy