Stokes State Forest is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located in Sandyston, Montague and Frankford in Sussex County,

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Stokes comprises of mountainous woods in the

Kittatinny Mountains Kittatinny Mountain (Lenape: Kitahtëne) is a long ridge traversing primarily across Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey, running in a northeast-southwest axis, a continuation across the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ...

, extending from the southern boundary of

High Point State Park High Point State Park is a state park straddling the border of Wantage Township and Montague Township in Sussex County, within the Skylands Region of northwestern New Jersey, United States, near the border with New York State and Pennsylvania. ...

southwestward to the eastern boundary of the

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle ...

. The park is operated and maintained by the

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry In the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is an administrative division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management and ...

History

Stokes State Forest was created in 1907 when Governor Edward Stokes donated of land on

and the State of New Jersey purchased of land. Due to the governor's generous donation, the forest was named Stokes State forest. The forest started with of land and through the years, additional purchases were made to bring the forest to over . Trails through the forest were made in the 1930s by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

as well as white pine trees being planted. During the 19th century the forests in New Jersey were cut down for farming and for lumber. Stokes was created to preserve the forests on the Kittatinny Mountains.

Geology

Around five hundred million years ago, an arcuate chain of volcanic islands collided with proto-North America. The North American plate was

subducted Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...

under the chain of islands. The islands overrode the edge of North America, creating the Highlands and Kittatinny Valley which is of the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

Martinsburg Shale. Quartz and the sedimentary conglomerate was transported to an inland sea, which was over part of the Martinsburg

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

was deposited over the Martinsburg shale. Then around four hundred million years ago a small continent, long and thin, collided with proto-North America, compressing the bedrock. The Kittatinny Mountains were created due to folding and faulting of the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

Shawangunk conglomerate which is made of quartz. This stone was in a shallow sea above the Martinsburg shale when folding occurred, producing heat in which the quartz bent. Then the quartz was cemented together with other small stones from silica. Due to the hardness of the stone, this makes the mountain highly resistant to weathering. Over millions of years, the mountain weathered from wind, rain, snow and ice. The

Wisconsin Glacier The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

covered Stokes State Forest and the Kittatinny Mountains from 21,000 BC to 13,000 BC. The glacier left end moraines,

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

s and periglacial rock fields. The Big Flat Brook is a shallow stream which starts in the mountain swamp of Steam Mill and travels in a southwesterly direction. It empties into the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

near Flatbrookville. This stream is stocked by the New Jersey Fish and Game with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

. This stream is considered one of the premier fishing streams in the state of New Jersey. In the 1880s, John Snook dug a mine and extracted

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

ore. He was paid well for the ore and the silver quickly ran out. This mine, which is filled with water today, is not far from the Kittle Field picnic area or about a mile and a half north of the forest office.

Flora and fauna

Stokes forest is in the northern deciduous forest in the north eastern Appalachians composed of various oaks, hickories, maples, as well as birch, chestnuts, beech, sycamore, cherry, walnut, ash, elm, and other hardwood tree species. Rhododendron, mountain laurel, high and low bush blueberries, grow in the forest as well as various mosses and ferns. Big game animals such as white tailed deer and bear inhabit the forest. Also there is beaver, mink, raccoons, possums, skunks, chipmunks, gray and red squirrels, gray fox, as well as the Adirondack fisher. There is also eastern coyote and bobcat.

Points of interest

Sunrise Mountain

Sunrise Mountain is part of the Kittatinny Mountains which goes from the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

State Line to the

Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...

. This mountain was formed during the Silurian period and made of the Shawangunk conglomerate which is made of quartz. Bedrock exposure of the Shawangunk conglomerate can be seen along the trail. The pavilion at the top of the peak makes a great place to picnic. To make traveling to Sunrise more interesting, one can look for the New Jersey shaped rock. The mountain is the second highest point in New Jersey, being above sea level. Hikers are amazed with the view. There is a USGS marker at the top of the mountain which gives the elevation. To get there, the hiking stretch is a quarter of a mile from a parking lot. Much of Sussex County can be seen from the summit of the mountain. From the eastern side of the mountain, one can view the Kittatinny Valley and the Highlands. From the western side, the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

and the

Port Jervis Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

trough can be seen. From the top of Sunrise Mountain you can see three states, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Appalachian Trail follows the ridge-line of the Kittatinny Mountains. It is marked with short white stripes known as blazes on trees.

Stony Lake

Stony Lake is an eight-acre lake that has a beach surrounded by picnic tables, pavilions, showers, dressing rooms, a new bathroom with flushing toilets. The beach is host to many swimmers during the months of July and August. The lake has life guards during swimming hours. The lake also offers many spots to fish. One can explore the forest around the lake. There are admission prices to the lake. There are also many playgrounds such as Kittle Field to take young children to.

Lake Ocquittunk

Lake Ocquittunk is a lake shape like a U, located in Stokes State Forest. There are eleven cabins around the lake that can be rented. The N.J. Fish and game stocks the lake with rainbow and brown trout three times a year. There is a small section of the lake on the other side of the road, that runs next to the lake. Perch, bass, and pickerel also inhabit the lake. A small stream runs into the lake and exits the lake.

Tillman Ravine

Tillman Ravine Natural Area is a section of coniferous and deciduous forest surrounding Tillman Brook. Tillman brook starts as a spring, which flows year round. An

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

of containing

eastern hemlock ''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...

and hardwoods follows part of the ravine. Several trails run through this area, providing views of waterfalls, pools, and rock formations. Tillman Ravine is a habitat for the

barred owl The barred owl (''Strix varia''), also known as the northern barred owl, striped owl or, more informally, hoot owl, is a North American large species of owl. A member of the true owl family, Strigidae, they belong to the genus '' Strix'', whic ...

and other endangered species. The ravine was created when the Wisconsin glacier melted and the melt water created a stream by traveling through the weaknesses of the bedrock of the Kittatinny Mountains. Tillman Creek flows over Buttermilk Falls and joins the

Flat Brook Flat Brook, also spelled as Flatbrook, is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United Sta ...

in the

two-miles south of the hamlet of Walpack Centre in Walpack Township, New Jersey.

School of Conservation

The

New Jersey School of Conservation The New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) is an Environmental Education center located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, New Jersey. It is currently under the management of thFriends of the New Jersey School of Conservation through an agr ...

. The New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC) is an Environmental Education center located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, New Jersey. It is currently under the management of the Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation, through an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The NJSOC was founded in 1949, and occupies facilities in Stokes State Forest built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

References

External links

Stokes State Forest Silver Mine

NY-NJTC: Stokes State Forest Trail Details and Info
{{Authority control New Jersey state forests State forests of the Appalachians Parks in Sussex County, New Jersey Civilian Conservation Corps in New Jersey Sandyston Township, New Jersey Frankford Township, New Jersey Montague Township, New Jersey