Environmental Education Center at Lord Stirling Park

Nine miles of trails and boardwalks at the edge of the Great Swamp.

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Lord Stirling Park is a roughly 925-acre Somerset County park complex on the northern edge of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, separated from the refuge by the Passaic River. Named for William Alexander, Lord Stirling, the Revolutionary War general whose manor site sits in an unopened section of the park.

The Environmental Education Center opened in 1977 and was the first solar-heated public building in the United States. Exhibits cover swamp ecology, local birds, and the geological history of the area.

The trail network is the draw:

  • About nine miles of flat, wide trails suitable for strollers;
  • Roughly three miles of boardwalk over swampy lowlands;
  • Wildlife observation blinds and platforms along the boardwalk;
  • Connections to the Great Swamp NWR trail system across the Passaic.

A useful low-impact complement to a Great Swamp visit, especially with kids or anyone less comfortable on rough trails. Free admission. About 25 minutes south of Morristown via Route 287 and Lord Stirling Road.