Jenny Jump State Forest is a
state park in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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 ...
operated by the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff ...
's
Division of Parks and Forestry. It is located in northern
Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War:
* Warren County, Georgia
* Warren County, Illinois
* Warren County ...
in the northwestern section of New Jersey, on the high, long
Jenny Jump Mountain ridge.
The park has extensive
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
trails on the mountainside, featuring large
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
boulders and outcroppings from the
Wisconsin glaciation
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 ...
approximately 21,000 years ago.
It is said that the park was named after a girl named Jenny, who jumped to her death on
Jenny Jump Mountain, while being chased by a Native American.
Environment
The park's forests are part of the
Northeastern coastal forests
The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont a ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
.
Facilities
The park grounds include the
Greenwood Observatory, built by the
United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey (UACNJ) in 1995. The
observatory is open for public stargazing on Saturday nights April through October.
UACNJ Observatory at Jenny Jump
, accessed September 3, 2006 There are several other observatories located at Jenny Jump, including the Brady which houses a 178MM Refractor and a solar observatory
A solar observatory is an observatory that specializes in monitoring the Sun. As such, they usually have one or more solar telescopes.
The Einstein Tower was a solar observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany.
Solar ...
. The area is used by many amateur astro photographers as Jenny Jump has some of the darkest skies in New Jersey.
The park has camping
Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
facilities April to October, and shelters available all year long.
See also
* List of New Jersey state parks
The New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry manages a public park system which consists of over 50 protected areas designated as state parks, state forests, recreation areas, and other properties within the state of New Jersey in the United ...
* Jenny Jump, the heroine of some "Wizard of Oz" spin-off books.
* Shades of Death Road
References
External links
UACNJ Observatory Website
NY-NJTC: Jenny Jump State Forest Trail Details and Info
New Jersey state forests
Parks in Warren County, New Jersey
State forests of the Appalachians
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