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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Chatham, NJ
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center MCPC

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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.

10/28/2026

Autumn is coming to Pyramid Mountain 🍂🍁

Our fall color is predicted to peak on November 1st, so we highly recommend a hike to one of our scenic overlooks for some leaf peeping. These photos were taken in early October, so the trees have yet to reach their full color. Before the leaves take their annual leave, stop by to enjoy the fall vibrance! We certainly won't be overlooking our overlooks this time of year.

Trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset, and our Visitor Center is open 9am - 4pm daily, except for major holidays and event-related closures. Entry and parking is always free.

10/22/2026

The Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center will be closed all day on Friday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 24th, to everyone except those attending our Trail Tales event. Trails will also be closed to everyone except event attendees.

We will reopen to the public on Sunday, October 25th.

Want to join us for Trail Tales on Saturday, October 24th?
Register online at tinyurl.com/TrailTales2026 or over the phone at 973-635-6629 to sign up for a 1-hr time slot. Time slots available every 15 minutes from 5:30pm-7:45pm. You'll be led through the darkened decorated trails, stopping at storytellers along the way. Costumes encouraged! 🎃

👻🧙
Walk-ins accepted as space allows.

10/20/2026

This Saturday: Trail Tales at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center!

You'll hear unforgettable family-friendly Halloween stories told by our costumed storytellers, see Jack-o-lanterns and Halloween scenes, and experience the Great Swamp after dark in this special one-hour guided walk. You'll laugh, be a little spooked, and maybe learn something about nature, too!

For ages 6 and up only (please see our Teeny Tiny Trail Tales for a special, littles-oriented version of this event!). $13 per person. Bring your family and friends, or just yourself! All are welcome to wear costumes. Experience the Great Swamp as you've never seen it before in our 24th season of Trail Tales!

Sign up online at tinyurl.com/TrailTales2026 or over the phone at 973-635-6629; slots fill quickly! Preregistration required. Time slots available every 15 minutes starting at 5:30pm. Last slot at 7:45pm. Rain or shine.

10/19/2026

It's mushroom mania over here.

With all the rain and moisture this fall, we've seen a LOT of fungi at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center, including nearly all of the ones shown here. Did you know that the mushroom you see above ground or on a decaying plant or animal is only a small part of the entire fungus organism?

The majority of most fungi live underground or inside the decomposing plant or animal, and the part we see on the surface is the fungus' fruiting body. The part below the surface absorbs moisture and nutrients as it breaks down decomposing organisms or parasitizes living plant roots, and the fruiting body spreads spores (e.g.; mushroom seeds). We'd squeeze in a few more fungi facts here, but there isn't mushroom left.

10/14/2026

A friendly reminder to never lick the wildlife.

If you take a walk along Pyramid Mountain’s yellow trail one of these rainy fall days, you'll have a good chance of seeing a red-spotted newt! A newt is a type of salamander that lives in the water as an adult, but on land as an adolescent. These tiny teenagers are called efts. As an adult, the red-spotted newt turns gray and its tail becomes paddle-like, preparing them for life underwater.

The red-spotted eft is a bright reddish orange with red spots ringed in black. This coloration is a warning to predators that the newt is poisonous. Some sources say the newt contains a toxin that is the strongest emetic (chemical that causes vomiting) known to science! (Some sources would also say that's eft up, but we think it's pretty cool.)

Before these animals hibernate this year and our parks become ber-eft of efts, stop by Pyramid Mountain and see if you can spot one! Trails are open dawn to dusk 7 days a week. Entry and parking is always free.

Image 1: A red eft on a patch of moss.
Image 2: Two adult red-spotted newts underwater.

10/10/2026

Trek the haunted Great Swamp after dark at our 24th annual TRAIL TALES!

A guide leads your small group through the night during this spooky one-hour walk. Jack-o-lanterns and haunted decorations light your way in between unforgettable family-friendly Halloween stories, told by our costumed storytellers. You'll laugh, be a little spooked, and maybe learn something about nature, too!

For ages 6 and up only (please see our Teeny Tiny Trail Tales for a special, littles-oriented version of this event!). $13 per person. All are welcome to wear costumes. Experience the Great Swamp as you've never seen it before with your family and friends, or just yourself!

Sign up online at tinyurl.com/TrailTales2026 or over the phone at 973-635-6629; slots fill quickly! Preregistration required. Time slots available every 15 minutes starting at 5:30pm. Last slot at 7:45pm. Rain or shine.

10/09/2026

What is a wigwam?

A wigwam is one of the types of homes Lenape families historically lived in. Wigwams were constructed out of natural materials. Young tree saplings were bent to construct the framework, then covered with reed mats, and bark sheets were used like shingles.

Come out for Lenape Day tomorrow - Saturday, October 10th, at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center to see and tour our replica wigwam for yourself, recently refurbished and arranged with artifacts to showcase how a Lenape family would have historically lived. Walk-ins welcome. $5/person, ages 3 and under free. Featuring dances, drumming, and presentations by the Ramapough Lenape, guided plant walks, and more! Visit https://tinyurl.com/LenapeDay for more information.

09/30/2026

You're invited to our 23rd annual Lenape Day!

The Morris County Park Commission is partnering with members of the Ramapough Lenape Nation for a day of cultural celebration. Learn about Lenape history, experience ceremonial dances and drumming, play traditional Lenape games, tour a life-sized wigwam, try bow drill fire-making, and more!

Walk-ins welcome, rain or shine. Parking at 240 Southern Boulevard; free shuttle buses take you across the street to the event. If you'd like to buy tickets in advance, go to https://www.morrisparks.net/events/lenape-day-6/ or give us a call at 973-635-6629. $5 per person, ages 3 and under free. We hope to see you there!

Image: Event flyer for Lenape Day at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.

09/26/2026

Please don't drop your Cheetos on the trail.

These neon mushrooms are cinnabar red chanterelles (Cantharellus cinnabarinus). They're named after the bright red mercury-containing mineral historically used for scarlet pigments, but their color is actually caused by a pigment called canthaxanthin, which is similar to the carotenes that cause carrots and other vegetables to be orange. Most chanterelles have a characteristic lower surface, with rounded, forked folds that run almost all the way down the stipe, aka mushroom stem.

Although these mushrooms are related to the species of chanterelles in grocery stores and French cuisine, and are edible when properly processed, you should NEVER pick or eat any wild mushrooms. Picking and foraging is prohibited by law in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and in many other places, and many mushrooms have deadly look-alikes. We'd like everyone reading this to live long enough to see our future posts.

Image: Cinnabar red chantarelles spotted at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center.

09/23/2026

William Snakespeare says farewell hot girl summer, hello cave witch autumn.

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/

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