The Apshawa Preserve is a 576-acre

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

in the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

of northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. Located off Northwood Drive in West Milford, the preserve is managed by the

New Jersey Conservation Foundation The New Jersey Conservation Foundation is a private non-profit organization that works to preserve land and Natural resource, natural resources in the state of New Jersey. Since its founding in 1960, the Foundation has protected 125,000 acres of o ...

and by Passaic County. The preserve is mostly wooded with oak and maple. The Apshawa is a brook, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Pequannock River The Pequannock River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately long, located in northern New Jersey in the United States. It rises in eastern Sussex County, near Highland Lakes on the north side of Hamburg Mountain. It flows southeas ...

; it flows through the preserve and is dammed to form the 40-acre Butler Reservoir within the preserve. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

once served to provide water to Butler. Apshawa Preserve includes a network of hiking trails and a 43-acre reservoir. Since 2010 part of the preserve is protected by a gated

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

fence to protect native plants that otherwise would be decimated by a high density deer population. In September 2014, 22-year-old student Darsh Patel was mauled by a black bear in the preserve and died. He was the first known person in New Jersey history to be killed by a black bear.

Location and access

The Apshawa Preserve is open year round from dawn to dusk for recreation, and can be accessed from 4 Macopin Road, West Milford. Onsite parking is provided in a gravel parking lot that is located off Northwood Drive (turn off of Macopin), where hikers will find a kiosk with trail maps as well as trailheads. Apshawa Preserve cannot yet be accessed via public transportation.

Hiking

There are about five miles of marked trails including three loop trails (Red 1.6 miles; Green 1.7 miles; Yellow .5 miles). There are five other connector trails which create a variety of possibilities. The red loop trail goes all the way around the Butler Reservoir and is accessible by the 1 mile blue trail from the parking lot.
''Apshawa Preserve Trail map''
Green Trail Marker-Apshawa Preserve

References

{{reflist West Milford, New Jersey Nature reserves in New Jersey Protected areas of Passaic County, New Jersey