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WASHINGTON CROSS STATE PARK
PROGRAMS & EVENTS
SPRING PROGRAMS
AT THE NATURE CENTER
The following is a list of activities being offered through the Nature Center at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, NJ. Some programs are offered free without registration requirements; some will require advanced registration as indicated below. A fee will be charged to motor vehicles entering the park on weekends and holidays 5/26 - 9/3 (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day). All programs will initially meet at the Nature Center unless otherwise indicated. Attendance is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Children must be accompanied by an adult. In the event of inclement weather, some programs might be canceled. It is always advisable to call ahead before coming out. Phone: (609) 737-0609.
GEOCACHE THE PARK (preteens – adult) Sunday April 1, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Geocaching is a high-tech update on the good old-fashioned scavenger hunt game utilizing GPS (global positioning system) technology to locate objects hidden among the forests, fields and trails of parks, playgrounds, natural areas and other open lands. Participants will learn how to obtain information and hints from the Geocaching.com website, on the location of over a dozen geocache sites located in and around the state park. They will then use handheld GPS devices to go out and find as many caches as possible. Once a cache is found, participants typically will sign in on the log contained within and then take an object from the cache box after, leaveing a trinket for subsequent geocachers.. Participants should bring a pocket full of trinkets to exchange when they locate caches. Trinkets can include small toys and balls, plastic jewelry, pens, pencils, scratch pads, patches, action figures, coins, etc. Advanced registration required. A limited number of GPS navigators will be made available to participants. Bring your own handheld GPS device if you have one.
NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE AREA OF THE PARK (all ages) Sunday April 15, 1:30 p.m. Jim Wade, former archivist and researcher with the N.J. State Museum will discuss primitive stone tool use by Native Americans in central New Jersey. Emphasis will be on the significance and importance of the Indian way of life during the spring season, focusing on the activities of community fish gathering, hunting and village life. The program will include a slide presentation and Native American artifacts will be on display.
BIKE HIKE (pre-teens - adult) Sunday April 22, 1:30 p.m. Take a guided bicycle ride up the Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath toward the Lambertville wing dam (approx. 13 mile round trip). Meet at the Nelson House parking lot. Bring your own bike and helmet. Advanced registration for the hike required.
GOAT HILL OVERLOOK HIKE (pre-teen - adult) Sunday April 29, 1:30 p.m.. Goat Hill Overlook is a relatively new state park acquisition. The tract sits on a bluff overlooking the Delaware River in W. Amwell Twp. and boasts commanding views of the Delaware Valley including portions of Lambertville, New Hope and areas north and west into Bucks County, PA. The tract contains extensive hardwood and mixed oak forests, open fields, numerous rock outcrops, a former diabase quarry and hiking trails. We will meet in Washington Crossing at the park pond on Church Rd and carpool to the overlook for an exploration hike. The terrain will be rugged and muddy in places. Wear hiking shoes and bring drinking water. Advanced registration required. Meet at the parking lot by Neiderer’s Pond (Church Rd).We will carpool to the overlook.
WILD EDIBLE PLANTS (3 yrs. - adult) Sunday May 6, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Participants will learn to identify and prepare some of the many native and introduced plants which earlier inhabitants of the area used to supplement their diets. This program will be led by plant lore enthusiast Pat Chichon of Lambertville. Bring a pair of plant clippers and a garden trowel. Advanced registration required. Free.
SPRING PARK HIKE (9 yrs - adult) Sunday May 13, 1:30 to 4 p.m. This is a naturalist-guided 3 1/2 - 5 mile hike taking on the park’s natural and historic areas, and several interesting and remote sections of the park. Wear sturdy footwear. Bring drinking water, a snack and a pair of binoculars.
BALDPATE MOUNTAIN HIKE (pre-teen – adult) Sunday May 20, 1:30 to 4 p.m. We will take the Summit Trail from its trailhead on Fiddlers Creek Rd. Meet at the parking lot by Neiderer’s Pond (Church Rd).We will carpool to the trail. Advanced registration required after 4/17. Bring a water bottle and wear hiking shoes.
SOLAR OBSERVATION ( all ages) Saturday May 26, 1 to 4 p.m. View magnetic sun storms safely through special filters via a telescope. Observe sun spots, solar flares, prominences and other solar phenomena. Learn how these storms can affect the earth as well as other interesting facts about Earth’s closest star. Gene Ramsey of the Amateur Astronomer’s Association of Princeton will lead this activity. Clear skies required. Park vehicle entrance Fee: $5.00/car. Rain date: Sunday May 27, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Park vehicle entrance Fee: $5 per car.
PALEO LIFEWAYS AND STONE TOOL MAKING IN A NEW JERSEY ICE AGE (all Ages) Monday May 28 Non to 4 p.m. Jim Silk, reconstructive stone tool maker and lithic technologist, will take participants on a journey back in time to the end of the last Ice Age when the earliest Native American people entered into what is now New Jersey. The program will examine regional Paleo human lifestyles, arctic landscapes and unusual prehistoric animals. Also, this program will demonstrate and explain the manufacture of specialized stone tools that were used by indigenous ice age people in adapting to their harsh environment 10,000 to 13,500 years ago. A slide presentation will be included in the program. Paleo artifacts and tool replications will be displayed. park vehicle entrance Fee: $5 per car.
PRETZEL JAR TERRARIUMS (all ages) Sunday June 3, 1:30 – 3 p.m. The forest floor is a fascinating community with its own unique woodland wildflowers, ferns, mosses and other organisms. Join us and build one of these ecosystems in a jar to take home. Advanced registration required after 5/1. Park vehicle entrance fee: $5 per car.
BUILD A ROPE BRIDGE (8 yrs. - adult) Sunday June 10, 1:30 to 4 p.m. Participants will be instructed in some basic knots and rope riggings and then use their newly acquired skills to create a functioning suspended bridge over one of the park’s stream ravines. Advanced registration required after 5/8. Park vehicle entrance Fee: $5 per car.
SPRING/SUMMER BIRDS OF THE PARK(all ages) Saturday June 16, 8:30 a.m. Come and join Lou Beck of Washington Crossing Audubon as we peruse the park for spring and summer resident bird species. Meet at the Nature Center. Park vehicle entrance Fee: $5 per car.
STREAM STOMP (6 yrs. - adult) Sunday June 17, 1:30 to 3 p.m. Come out for a wet hike as we follow a park stream in search of crayfish, salamanders, caddisflys, frogs, minnows and other stream inhabitants. Park vehicle entrance fee: $5.00 per car.
FAMILY NATURE WALK (all ages) Sunday June 24, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Join us for an informal naturalist-guided trail walk. Park vehicle entrance fee; $5 per car.
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