 Pink Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium acaule). |
Plants & Trees along the Nature Trail
Along the top of the spring are Beech trees with their smooth light gray bark.
 Spring with wall of cut stones from the quarry. |
In front of the Spring on the left side is a Sycamore tree. Its bark is peeling off.
 Sycamore tree |
In front of the Spring on the right side is an Oak tree with a big Poison Ivy vine on it.
 Oak tree with Poison Ivy vine. |
Just to the right of the spring there are two trails. One takes the high road going up, and the other remains level. Going up the higher trail, you will see different kinds of moss growing along the right bank. About 245 feet from the spring is an American Eastern Red Cedar tree. About 300 feet from the spring you reach Contact Point (sign on a tree on the hill) where the high trail meets back down with the level trail. Here is where the diabase rock comes in contact with the sandstone. It is interesting to note that different plants grow better in the diabase soil then in the sandstone and shale rocks of the Stockton formation.
On the lower level trail there is a sycamore tree and Mountain Laurel on the left about 40 feet from the end of the spring. About 70 feet from the spring are some wine berry plants. Their berries taste like wine. Mountain Laurel continues to grow along the left side of the hill. In front of the Contact Point (about 300 feet from the spring) there is a dead tree with fungi growing on it. Past the Contact Point you find a lot of Hemlock trees growing along the right side of the bank going all the way down to the road (St. Peters Road). About 55 feet from the Contact Point are some diseased oak tree leaves on the left and some ferns on the right.
 Oak Leaves eaten by bugs. |
About 220 feet from the Contact Point the trail narrows for 80 feet. There is a lot of Mountain Laurel and Hemlocks along this narrow path.
 Mountain Laurel bush. |
About 300 feet from the Contact Point the trail divides into the high trail going up the bank on the right and the low level trail to the left. About 620 feet from the Contact Point the Nature Trail turns to go up the hill. There is a sign saying Nature Trail on a Beech tree pointing up hill to the trail.
 Beech Tree |
About 30 feet from the Beech tree going up hill is a Sassafras plant.
 Sassafras plant |
About 185 feet up the trail it divides, but stay to the left. There is a Nature Trail sign at about 255 feet to point you in the right direction. About 300 feet up the Mountain Laurel gets very thick. At about 460 feet you have reached the top of the hill. There is some moss on some rocks at about 515 feet. At about 590 feet on the other side of the fence is a tree with several holes in it. At 715 feet you reach the beginning of the Geology Trail.
 Daylily by the quarry |