This trail arcs around the northeastern edge of Pennington Borough. This is not a loop trail, but walkers can connect the two ends of the trail route into a loop by walking the pleasant residential streets of the Borough of Pennington. The trail traverses a property owned by the D&R Greenway, a property covered by a conservation easement held by the Greenway, and a property owned by the State’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.

In the fall of 2020, D&R Greenway planted 800 trees for a riparian restoration along the Stony Brook, as more than 100 volunteers came out to help, including trail neighbors and D&R Greenway trustees and stewardship volunteers.

The new trees and shrubs will filter storm water, improve water quality, and provide wildlife habitat.  Volunteers planted swamp white oak, river birch, ironwood, nannyberry viburnum, red-twig dogwood, winterberry and spicebush. Each plant has been individually protected with a grow tube to prevent damage from deer.  A few visitors have said the rows of tree tubes look like a public art project, according to D&R Greenway staff.

D&R Greenway’s partner for this project was the Ernest Schwiebert Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Riparian restorations are funded through The Watershed Institute and The Nature Conservancy’s “Roots for Rivers” program.

Volunteers used “tree tubes” to protect saplings from foraging deer.

D&R Greenway staff, Maria Stahl, Tina Notas, and Bill Flemer