Visit Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, NJ

A lot of attractions we cover don’t really need the PR. Your Fisherman’s Wharfs and your Disneylands, what have you. So today we’ve got a little love for local New Jersey gem. If you live in the Bergen County area, or you plan on heading through sometime, don’t miss the chance for a day of healthful fun at the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, New Jersey.

The pleasures of this 150-acre nature park are simple: fresh air, a trail at your feet and the verdant energy of the forest all around you. Part of the majestic New Jersey Palisades, cliffs that align the western banks of the Hudson River, the nature park remains one of the last natural statements of the once massive forest. The dense trees have an iconic, even cinematic quality about them. In the cooler months, you could swear you stepped into The Blair Witch Project. Only, with the exception of maybe a few snakes, here there’s nothing trying to kill you.

Activities at the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center are entirely self-guided, so grab a map at the Nature Center Building and hit the road. The winding nature trails are at the heart of you visit. There are over 3 miles’ worth if you’re feeling particularly enthusiastic. Along the way there’s a good chance to see wildlife – turtles, snakes, bullfrogs, deer, owls, geese, turkeys, egrets – as well as beautiful native flowers, trees, shrubs and so much else.

McFadden Pond, at the tip of the lengthy Red Trail, is the must-see of the park. The scenic outlook will take your breath away even as you stop in a vain attempt to catch it back up. There are also a number of gardens and habitats to see during your visit. Two butterfly gardens, the educational children’s garden and the Backyard Habitat, demonstrating proper gardening practices, are popular.

If you’re the kind who has to do something, Flat Rock Brook Nature Center offers an assortment of public programs – narrated hikes, kids camps, bird watching, wildlife spotting, educational programs and the like. They’re not free though, and the majority of them require registration by mail, so don’t expect to sneak in last minute. Still, here’s the current schedule (getting a little out of date).

Unless you walk mad slow, a trip to the Nature Center isn’t going to take all day. What it will do is put you at peace, help you to clear your head, reintroduce you to the ephemeral essence of nature, and it’ll help you burn more than a few calories while it’s at it. I wouldn’t travel across the country for it, but if you’re even somewhat in the area (I’m talking to you, NYC), a spirited morning in the forest could do you good.

Flat Rock Brook Nature Center is open daily from dawn to dusk and is free to visit. For the safety of yourself and the forest, please be mindful of the park rules. Learn more.

Have fun at the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center!

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