Limestone Ridge Preserve

Blairstown
97 Acres

Hiking at Limestone Ridge

Public access is provided via a hiking trail on the preserve, accessible via Hope Road (County Road 521) in Blairstown, in the rear of the parking lot at the Givens-Belet American Legion Post, owned by Blairstown Township.

UNIQUE FEATURES

The preserve is a forested tract of land immediately south of the Paulinskill, and hosts various deciduous and evergreen species, dominated on the north by hemlocks. Large tulip poplars, successional black birch, and mature oak, hickory and maple trees are present.  A perennial stream flows within a deep ravine on the eastern end of the property.

The topography throughout is the characteristic “pinnacle and trough” found in areas underlain by limestone within the Kittatinny Valley, wherein resistant strata of limestone stand out in bold relief while less resistant beds weather into narrow trough-like alleys.  The western edge of the preserve is bounded by a steep escarpment that exposes the carbonate bedrock.  Another steep escarpment is found on the northern side facing the Paulinskill. A third escarpment bounds the stream valley in the eastern part of the preserve. Wetlands make up a minor part of the preserve and are found principally along the northwestern edge along Hope Road.

HISTORY

Limestone Ridge Preserve was acquired in 2014 through a property exchange with NJDEP. Prior to that, since 2002, RVC managed all stewardship activities on the preserve under an agreement with NJDEP.