Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

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Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary is perched on the steep slopes of Bougher Hill with scenic views of the Delaware River. Closed Mondays.
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Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary is open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset. The 200-acre Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary and Wilderness Trust is perched on the steep slopes of Bougher Hill overlooking the scenic Delaware River. Hiking trails lead visitors through a variety of forest types and meadow areas that are home to abundant wildflowers and wildlife. Mariton is managed by non-profit conservation organization Natural Lands. Learn more at www.natlands.org.

09/09/2026

The owls have some competition...this might be one of the most photogenic raptors we’ve ever seen 😍

📸: Red-tailed hawk by Bill Moses

09/04/2026

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and everyone can do with their kids to keep them engaged in the outdoors amidst the chaos of the back-to-school season. And let's be honest...you could probably benefit from a little extra time outdoors, too.

Other fun nature-play ideas include:

🗺️ Treasure hunting. Hide a natural treasure, then make a map showing where to find it.

🧚‍♀️ Crafting a magical residence. Fairy house, gnome home, or toad abode, make a tiny house for the other residents of your yard...real or fiction!

⛵️ Building a natural boat. Is it a pirate ship? Vikings? Make two (or more) and race them down a stream.

🪵 Constructing something together. A swing, a shelter, or a simple hammock, it doesn’t need to be grand.

🛶 Kayaking. A classic!

Bonus tip: Just be present. Whether it's the playground after school or the sidelines of a soccer field, nature can be found almost anywhere by those who go looking for it.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

08/26/2026

What on earth is that tiny (1 mm across), spiked sphere on this leaf? Why, that's the enormously cool egg of the native Red-spotted Purple butterfly! Their often laid at the very tip of a leaf to help hide them from predators. The host plants of this butterfly include black cherry, wild cherry, willow, aspen, and serviceberry.

📸: Zane Miller

08/19/2026

Fun fact: many chrysalises and pupae experience natural autofluorescence when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. This means they absorb invisible UV radiation from the sun and naturally emit it back as a visible, ghostly glow. This fluorescence is primarily caused by chitin—the primary structural component of the outer insect cuticle—as well as metabolic cofactors like NADPH and flavins actively working inside the transforming tissue.

📸: Tianna Godsey

08/12/2026

Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) is a native species that blooms in July and August. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Both male and female plants are needed to produce fruit. Flowers provide nectar for native bees. Fertilized female flowers lead to large clusters of edible, sour, red berries which ripen in August. The berries provide a valuable food source for birds. Fall foliage is a rich red, crimson, and scarlet. Winged Sumac provides habitat for birds, bees, and wildlife.

📸: Tianna Godsey

08/05/2026

Invasive species spotlight: The mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin)--native to Asia--was introduced to our region by famed botanist William Bartram. In fact, Thomas Jefferson obtained some seeds from Bartram and planted them at Monticello. The species outcompetes native vegetation, particularly in disturbed habitat like roadsides and stream banks. A single tree produces thousands of seeds that can remain viable in the soil for many years.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

07/29/2026

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
~ Maya Angelou

📸: Nikki Bowen

07/24/2026

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist mistakenly applied fixed-wing airplane equations to the insects, failing to account for their rapid, twisting wing movements. Instead of simply flapping up and down, bumblebees beat their wings in a fast, figure-eight motion. This rapid movement (up to 240 times per second) creates tiny, low-pressure air vortexes (miniature hurricanes) above their wings that act as a suction, generating enough lift to keep their heavy bodies airborne.

📸: Preston Wilson

07/22/2026

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
~ Maya Angelou

📸: Scott Singer

07/17/2026

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinct black line running horizontally across the lower hind wings, while Monarchs do not. Monarchs are generally larger, with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 4 inches, whereas Viceroys are smaller, typically 2.6 to 3 inches. Monarchs have thicker black veins on their wing patterns.

📸: Bill Moses

Address

240 Sunnyside Road
Easton, PA
18042

Website

https://natlands.org/mariton-wildlife-sanctuary/

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