Home | Department of Parks and Recreation | Park Guides & Trail Maps | SCHICK RESERVE
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ABOUT LOCATION TRAILS RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AGRICULTURAL USE HUNTING WILDLIFE AND HABITAT SUMMARY OF RULES AND REGULATIONS PRINTABLE BROCHURE (NOTE: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required for brochure: Click for FREE Plugin) |
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PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
Location: Schick Reserve is located in Alexandria Township on Schick Road. The park is open from sunrise to sunset. There are no restroom facilities. Directions from the Flemington Area: From the Route 31/202 Circle, take route 12 west to Route 579. Turn right on to Route 579 and travel through Pittstown to Hickory Corner Road. (Be careful to follow signs for Route 579 because it makes several turns.) Turn left onto Hickory Corner Road and proceed as above. Directions from the Clinton Area: Take Interstate 78 west to exit 11 and cross over I-78 and follow the signs for Pattenburg. Follow Route 614 through Pattenburg to the junction with Route 579. Turn left on to Route 579 and make the first right onto Hickory Corner Road. Proceed for 1.5 miles, turn right on Schick Road and make a quick left into a grass parking lot. Additional Information
The Hunterdon County Parks and Recreation Department is dedicated to preserving open space and natural resources, providing safe parks and facilities, and offering educational and recreational opportunities, all contributing to an enhanced quality of life for present and future generations. The County leases much of the land to a local farmer. In accepting the lease, the farmer has agreed to farm the property while complying to a management plan. Please be considerate. Stay on the trails and do not pick or damage any crops. Schick Reserve is an undeveloped park. No formal trail system exists within the reserve. The general public can hike along the edge of the fields and the farmer’s service roads. Be prepared for hiking in occasional brushy or muddy areas. Long pants and waterproof shoes are recommended. Click HERE to view the Schick Reserve Trail Map In order to control the population of deer on park property, hunting is permitted. Hunters must obtain a special permit issued by the Parks Department to be able to hunt on the preserve. Visitors during hunting season are strongly encouraged to wear blaze orange or confine visits to Sundays. See additional information on the Hunterdon County Park System Controlled Hunting Program. The fields at the Schick Reserve offer a wonderful opportunity to view and find evidence of some of the County’s predators. Scan the skies to see if any raptors are hunting in the area. Red Tailed Hawks are common and Northern Harriers have been known to reside here during the winter season. While walking the field roads, look for scat and tracks of coyotes and foxes. There is an abundance of edge habitat throughout the Schick Reserve. The field edges provide shelter to several birds throughout the season. Some of the rarer species sighted include Fox Sparrows and Brown Thrashers. Small mammals, such as rabbits and skunks, also take advantage of this terrain. |
The reserve is 311 acres of gently rolling hills with a mixture of fallow fields, hedge-rows, and woodlands. Located on the property is a "Bank Barn" constructed prior to 1855 by Philip Apgar, a blacksmith by trade, and his wife, Rebecca. Built in the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, the construction relied on a complex interior of posts joined to one or more tie beams called a bent. Another feature of the barn is the large hay wagon or “boxcar” doors. Two sets were constructed at opposite ends of the barn to provide light for the threshing and drafting as well as to establish a crude but effective breezeway. The lower level of the barn housed the stables for the livestock while the upper level was used for storage of hay. It was not uncommon for farmers to inscribe their names or drawings in the barn wood. Along the southern breastboard of an oak beam, Mr. Apgar's two eldest children, Sarah and Frederick "Wilson", simply wrote, "1855 S.A. W.A." The reserve was acquired by the County in 1994 via partial donations from Joseph, Curtis, Barbara, and Hermine Schick, whose family owned the farm property since 1917.