10/11/2022
Interested in a unique local hiking opportunity? Join Spruce Run, Voorhees & Hacklebarney State Parks this coming Saturday, October 15th at 8:30am for a hike of the full low water perimeter of Spruce Run Reservoir- 15.3 miles in total! 🥾 🌊
To RSVP for this event, email your name, phone number & email address to [email protected]
Join us for a rare, full-day hike following the entire lower water perimeter of Spruce Run Reservoir, totaling 15.3 miles. The reservoir is currently the lowest it has been in since 2015, possibly more! The low reservoir levels offer a unique opportunity to view often hidden aquatic life such as the Colonial Bryozoan, a multi celled organism which resembles freshwater jellyfish.
The hike will focus on the history and ecology of the area. Along the way, you will hear the history of the reservoir, from it's first proposed construction in the 1920s, to the Water Bond Act of 1958 and it's relation to the great flood, and finally the reservoir's completion in 1963. Spruce Run Recreation Area opened a decade later. We'll look at the remaining historic structures such as the club house and judge's tower from the CCC in the 1930s, as well as the old alignments of the roads which we will walk.
The most interesting aspect of the hike will be the views and the historic remnants. Spruce Run Reservoir was once part of a 10,000 acre plus property of Allen and Turner who owned and operated the Union Iron works, one of the oldest iron foundries in US history. The original furnace, constructed before 1742, usually lies below the waters of the reservoir, but is now visible!
This hike is posted as a cooperative effort between Metrotrails, the NJDEP Department of Parks, Forests and Historic Sites, Union Forge Heritage Association, and the NJ Water Authority. Bill Honachefsky, vice President of UFHA will be present to assist with historic interpretation, and we will be taking a side trip to visit the new Solitude Heritage Museum, located in the historic Joseph Turner House along the Highlands Trail.
Please be sure to bring appropriate hiking clothes, water, and food.
RSVP by emailing your name, phone number, and email to [email protected].
