Herrontown Woods Arboretum (142 acres) is an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, ma ...

located on Snowden Lane near the junction with Herrontown Road, in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of wh ...

. It is open to the public every day at no cost. There are walking trails, but trail bicycles are prohibited.

Description

This land is preserved in its natural state (except for a pipeline right-of-way, which crosses the woods). It contains a

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

forest, wetlands, frogs and salamanders, over 30

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate ...

of trees, shrubs, and flowers, rare birds, rocks containing magnetite, and several miles of walking trails.

History

Herrontown Woods

The first of the arboretum were donated to the Mercer County Park Commission in 1957 by internationally renowned mathematician Prof.

Oswald Veblen Oswald Veblen (June 24, 1880 – August 10, 1960) was an American mathematician, geometer and topologist, whose work found application in atomic physics and the theory of relativity. He proved the Jordan curve theorem in 1905; while this was long ...

(1880-1960) of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

. The gift was valued at $154,000 and was the town of Princeton's first nature preserve. In 1966 the Park Commission approved a expansion of the Woods. When Elizabeth Veblen died in 1974, the Veblens' remaining were added to the park, including a cottage and house, giving the park its current size.

Autumn Hill Reservation

In 1967 Princeton Township and Princeton Borough jointly purchased of former hardscrabble farms returned to woodland, north of Herrontown Road, across the street from the arboretum, for preservation as the Autumn Hill Reservation. This stretch of land is sometimes referred to as the Herrontown Woods extension. The reservation has only a rudimentary trail loop, the work of an

Eagle Scout service project The Eagle Scout Service Project, or simply Eagle Project, is the opportunity for a Scout (Scouts, B.S.A.), or qualified Venturer or Sea Scout in the Boy Scouts of America (B.S.A.) to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for ...

by Boy Scout Troop 43. A small parking lot on Herrontown, west of its junction with Snowden, provides access.

Trail access

The woods can be accessed from a parking lot off of Snowden Lane on the east side of the arboretum. In 2010, an adjoining tract of land owned by All Saints Episcopal Church was purchased for preservation by the D&R Greenway Land Trust. This enabled trails to be added reaching to the south, accessing both the church and the former Church & Dwight headquarters on Bunn Drive. In October, 2014, trail access was added from Stone Hill Church, on the west side of the woods, off Bunn Drive, through the joint effort of th
Friends of Herrontown Woods
and the church

youth group Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, ...

. Visitors are free to park at the church, apart from Sunday mornings, to access the trails.

Gallery