What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8am - 4:30pm Thursday 8am - 4:30pm Friday 8am - 4:30pm Saturday 8am - 4:30pm Sunday 8am - 4:30pm

Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center MCPC

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Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center MCPC

Call or check the MCPC website for more information: www.morrisparks.net; 973-635-6629. The building is currently closed to the public.

The Great Swamp OEC, a facility of the Morris County Park Commission in Chatham, New Jersey, provides outdoor education programs, nature trails and a nature center. The trails are open 7 days a week, 8am to dusk.

09/05/2026

Two-for-one special: a white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) and someone's dad (daddy longlegs, or Phalangium spp.).

White turtleheads, named for their flowers' uncanny resemblance to a turtle's head, are native to New Jersey. Their scientific name roughly translates to "smooth, hairless tortoise." They like moist soil and partial shade.

Daddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen or harvesters, are not spiders or your dad, but a secret third thing. They belong to the order Opiliones, which contains over 6,000 species of arachnids with one compact body part and long, thin legs. True daddy longlegs don't have venom at all, contrary to popular belief. Instead, they use their tiny mouthparts to eat small insects and dead animal and plant material.

Photo: A daddy longlegs rests on the leaf of a white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) plant at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.

09/02/2026

Want to learn something new about nature? Or weave a basket made out of invasive plants? Or find out who the heck William Snakespeare is and why he's the coolest ambassador corn snake you'll ever meet?

Now that summer camp season is over, we return to our regularly scheduled programming of guided hikes, Toddler Treks, kids craft programs, adult outdoor skills workshops, plus some new programs and events we're very excited about. Coming up this September at the Great Swamp OEC and Pyramid Mountain.

Register now and view more program information at https://tinyurl.com/EnvironmentalEdRegistration or 973-635-6629.

08/29/2026

*epic raptor screech*

Happy Raptor Month! This October, we will be celebrating the dozens of birds of prey species found in the US. Raptors are vital balance-keepers of our ecosystems and the clean-up crew of the skies.

At the Great Swamp, one of our many raptor visitors is the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). That common raspy raptor sound effect you hear in movies is actually a red-tailed hawk's screech and is often overlaid on bald eagle footage (which sounds a lot like bird plagiarism). In addition to being phenomenal voice actors, these hawks mate for life. They hunt rodents, birds, and other small animals on their own or with their partners as a team. Red-tailed hawks have been known to live for up to thirty years in the wild and are the most widespread raptor in the US.

Image 1: A red-tailed hawk at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.
Image 2: Our summer campers pay their respects to a bald eagle at The Raptor Trust during a field trip, despite the plagiarism allegations.

08/26/2026

No screens + hiking + a bonus really big tree = summer camp awesomeness.

As summer camp season at the Great Swamp OEC and Pyramid Mountain comes to a close for this year, we want to thank all of our counselors, camp leaders, camper parents and guardians, and of course, our campers themselves for making this season so terrific. This summer, nearly 250 outdoor adventurers aged 2 - 14 trekked our trails, made new friends, beat the heat and the rain with games and crafts, and did it all while learning something new about nature.

In September, our regularly scheduled programming returns: free guided hikes, Toddler Treks, homeschool programs, kids' weekend and afterschool nature activities, and more! Register at https://tinyurl.com/EnvironmentalEdRegistration or 973-635-6629.

Again, a heartfelt thank you everyone who joined us for summer camp this season, and we hope to see you on the trails next year!

08/22/2026

Too much scrolling. Not enough wildflowers.

Enjoy these blooms captured by our naturalists at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center and Pyramid Mountain this summer.

Image 1: Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida) at Pyramid Mountain
Image 2: Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) at the Great Swamp OEC
Image 3: Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) at the Great Swamp OEC
Image 4: Summer phlox (Phlox paniculata) at Pyramid Mountain

08/19/2026

At Pyramid Mountain, we don't just touch grass. We also touch rock.

You're invited to our next Hiking Adventure at Pyramid Mountain, led by Ranger Guy! Bring a family member (or just yourself!) and enjoy roughly three miles of moderate-to-steep terrain, sprinkled with nature facts, tricks of the trail, and more. Great for adults and families with older kids!

"On our last hike we had a great time looking at all the mushrooms on the trails. You just never know what you're going to find." -Ranger Guy

Saturday, August 22, 10am - 12pm, ages 8+ with an adult. $8 per person. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome too! Preregister online at https://tinyurl.com/EnvironmentalEdRegistration or over the phone at 973-334-3130.

08/15/2026

Summer camps at the Great Swamp OEC and Pyramid Mountain 😎🌳⛰️
Just two more weeks of camps to go!

08/12/2026

Yes, I enjoy reading about myself online. .org

Images: A yellow fly of the dismal swamp (Diachlorus ferrugatus) peruses its own iNaturalist page on a computer screen at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.

science

08/08/2026

Rock on! Join our community of Active 50+ hikers at Pyramid Mountain for monthly two-hour treks on the trails, led by Ranger Guy.

You'll see hidden gems, learn new nature and history facts, see glacial erratics, and get a chance to make friends along the way.

Our next hike is Saturday, August 15, 1 - 3pm. $7 per person. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome too! Preregister online at https://tinyurl.com/EnvironmentalEdRegistration or, if you're old-school cool, over the phone at 973-334-3130.

Image: Two hikers pose at Tripod Rock during one of our previous guided hikes this season.

08/05/2026

Sssorry to bother you ...

Our naturalists saw this common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) at the Pyramid Mountain Visitor Center! These snakes are highly adaptable to suburban and urban environments and are found throughout much of North America.

Garter snakes are vital predators of small rodents, mollusks like snails and slugs, insects, and other small animals, and are an important food source for large birds, foxes, and other mammals. They do have a mild venom, but it poses no significant danger to humans.

In general, snakes do not bite unless they feel threatened with no escape route, like if they are picked up. Relatable: we wouldn't like being suddenly scooped into the air by a giant, either. Garter snakes in particular are often skittish, so they may see you and slither away before you even know they were there. Sssigning off ...

Address

247 Southern Boulevard
Chatham, NJ
07928

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8am - 4:30pm
Friday	8am - 4:30pm
Saturday	8am - 4:30pm
Sunday	8am - 4:30pm

Website

http://www.morrisparks.net/

Alerts

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