Join us for a rare hike following the entire lower water perimeter of Spruce Run Reservoir. The hike will be 15.3 miles.
This hike is sponsored by NJ State Park Service, Spruce Run Recreation Area.
The reservoir is currently the lowest it has been in since 2022, possibly more. Several different factors have come into play which have led Water Authority to lower the levels of the reservoir to their current point.
The hike will focus on the history and ecology of the area. Along the way, I will be telling the history of the reservoir, from it's first proposed construction in the 1920s, to the Water Bond Act of 1958 and it's relation to the great flood, and finally the reservoir's completion in 1963. Spruce Run Recreation Area opened a decade later. We'll look at the remaining historic structures such as the club house and judge's tower from the CCC in the 1930s, as well as the old alignments of the roads which we will walk.
Included in the hike will be the Spruce Run Turnpike, nearly forgotten predecessor to Rt 31, old Union Road which used to extend into Clinton, and old Van Syckles Corner Road in it's route before it was re-aligned about 1960. Some of the road is today the route of the Highlands Trail and the current Boat Launch Road where it remains out of water.
The low water levels also offer the opportunity to see some of the aquatic life not always seen such as the Colonial Bryozoan pictured above. These multi celled organisms resemble fresh water jellyfish and can be quite large. They are a sign of clean water.
We'll get to see the amazing way nature reclaims disturbed land, and how the major tributaries to the reservoir somehow manage to find their earlier courses. Care will have to be taken to cross the Willoughby Brook, Black Brook, and Mulhockaway Creek. The other tributaries, Willoughby Brook and Spruce Run will be crossed on bridges.
The most interesting aspect of the hike will be the views and the historic remnants. Spruce Run Reservoir was once part of a 10,000 acre plus property of Allen and Turner who owned and operated the Union Iron works, one of the oldest iron foundries in US history. The original furnace, constructed before 1742, usually lies below the waters of the reservoir.
Note the rounded rocks of the furnace kiln are still amazingly intact. We will also be passing many barn foundations associated with the Mulhockaway Farm and others.
We'll pass countless stone piles that are all that remain of some of the earlier masonry structures. The mortar does not hold together under water, therefore these structures have crumbled. The concrete structures lasted a bit more.
This hike is posted as a cooperative effort between Metrotrails, the NJ DEP Department of Parks and Forests, Union Forge Heritage Association, and the NJ Water Authority.
We will also visit historic Joseph Turner House along the Highlands Trail. I am thankful to have the opportunity to lead this hike as part of my work at Spruce Run and I hope everyone can join and experience this unique opportunity.
Everyone should bring plenty of water and have weather appropriate clothing.
Meet at 8:30 at the Van Syckles Road lot near the bridge a short distance from Rt 31
If needed, contact me at 908 343 8374