Isolation Photo Project, Day 64: Mount Rose Preserve

Bhavna, Kiran and I hiked on the Aunt Molly Trail yesterday. We had a second day of sunny weather for Memorial Day, so Bhavna and I decided on another hike. I suggested we try the Mount Rose Preserve in Hopewell which isn’t too far from Aunt Molly Road.

Mount Rose is a nearly 400-acre preserve in Hopewell Township that was slated for development. The preserve is on land that was previously a corporate campus, and later a major research and education facility for Western Electric and AT&T. It was preserved in 2015 through the work of FoHVOS and several important partner organizations. The preserve is a landscape of both forest and meadow. Mount Rose is home to our longest trail yet, an over 2-mile hike that stretches through mature forest, streams, and second growth forest.

We misread the map and followed a short trail which connected to the Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) which is a paved trail, perfect for strolls or bicycling. We walked along this wetland trail under we arrived at Carter Road. Realising our mistake, we turned around and headed back to the entrance to the preserve.

From the trailhead, we found the entrance to the trailhead for the 2-mile forest loop trail. I saw so many new plants and flowers and like the Aunt Molly Trail, this trail took us over streams, through the dense forest, shrubland and meadow habitats. We came upon a deer exclosure that allows New Jersey native plants to grow and thrive without the threat of deer.

The trail has been recently updated with signage about COVID-19.

Bhavna and I agreed that this was the best trail we have hiked and we intend to return again and again. We talked about life under COVID-19, future planning, taxes, etc.

I uploaded all the forty-seven photos remaining after my deletion from the original 200. They are in chronological order.

Submitted as part of the 100DaysToOffload project.