Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve

Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve (4/21/2012)

Formally known as the Haledon Reservoir, the area now known as the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve was purchased by Franklin Lakes six years ago but wasn't open to the public until summer of last year. A few months ago I learned that the awesome volunteers at the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference were in the process of clearing and blazing a small network of trails around the reservoir, so I made a mental note to visit. When the NYNJTC published a hike for this area on 3/26/2012, the deal was sealed. Short on time, we headed there this morning to do the described hike.

It's a beautiful little gem, and we visited at a very unique time of the year. Within 10 minutes we literally stumbled upon a Canada Goose nest on the white trail on the western side of the reservoir just north of the dam. The father wasn't very happy to see us and gave a fake charge. Not long after that we passed another and another and another. On the blue trail we had an "encounter" when a father goose became quite aggressive because the trail came too near to his mate's nest. He swam quickly to the bank and then charged us on the narrow dyke! If anyone witnessed this silly event, it must have been quite a sight seeing two grown adults running away from an 18" armless being! He didn't chase us far and we giggled uncontrollably after reaching safety.

We encountered plenty more geese nesting, at one point forcing both the mother and father to return to the two eggs in their unguarded nest (one egg, curiously had a big blue X scrawled on it ... those nutty naturists). And then, unexpectedly, we almost surprised a huge white swan in her nest! Knowing that swans can be very vicious we high-tailed it out of there before the father swan was summoned. Whew! There's a reason this place is called a Nature Preserve!

Total distance hiked today was 2.7 miles in a 2-hour period that seemed to alternate between leisurely admiration of ineffable beauty and the outrunning of angry geese.

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