Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre del Gran Pantano - Basking Ridge, New Jersey

Roberto R.

Un lugar unico

Jorge J. S. S.

Buen lugar

Drew R. 9.

Great Swamp is huge and has several different types of hiking trails. There is a 1 mile hike which wasn’t very impressive but I love the lookout area. The views of the swamp is very nice. The park also has forests and fields.

Phillip R.

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 couple miles!

Cindy M.

I had not been here since an elementary school trip some 55 years or so ago. Thought it would be a nice way to spend a couple of hours with my son and his spouse. We just took a mile long trail as my son has severe back problems and uses a wheel chair at times. It was a beautiful nature walk but do be aware that the mosquitos can be awful. I forgot about mosquitoes because I now live in San Diego where there are not many lol. Still a wonderful way to enjoy nature. Saw a hummingbird hardly bigger than a bee. Would love to enjoy more walks here.

EE G.

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 has been dry.

Kevin M.

Great place for walking trails. The visitor center has some interesting exhibits.

Nigel S. J.

Very well maintained and full of pollinators. Wasn’t able to see a swamp or any amphibians. Maybe it was because of the summer season. Also the trail was underwhelming, maybe there are more trails I wasn’t able to find.