Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

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Easton, PA
Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary

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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.

11/02/2026

Looking for a way to connect with nature during these shorter days? Worried you'll become Vitamin D deficient? Just want to rip something out and show an invasive who's boss? Come out and volunteer with us!

Public volunteer days are always free to attend and take place across a wide variety of our locations. Check out all the upcoming dates on our website 😊

📸: Colleen Cranney

10/22/2026

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” — Elizabeth Lawrence

📸: Tyler Gross

10/15/2026

It's that oh-so special time of year again...time to leave the leaves! Really, the entire food chain benefits from leaf litter come winter. Fallen leaves provide vital habitat to overwintering insects, small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. Leaf litter also makes for wonderful nesting material and insulation for our den-dwellers like groundhogs. Then, of course, our larger mammals such as foxes and coyotes still need to hunt, and where are many of their go-to meals hiding out? You guessed it, the leaves!

Help a firefly make it to summer. Feed a fox. Do it for the salamanders.

Even if you live in a small space, leaf litter can be fastened to containers, window boxes, and raised garden beds with chicken wire. It's just one of those things where every little bit helps.

Happy fall, all!

P.S. Don't feel too guilty if you still need to mow some...leaves become excellent dirt!

📸: Image designed by hand and in-house by Brittni Hribar, Senior Graphic Designer

10/07/2026

Alert: Deer management season is underway. Controlled hunting of white-tailed deer protects the ecological balance of our nature preserves. Only Natural Lands permit-holders may hunt the preserves.

Natural Lands has operated our controlled hunting program safely for decades. Hunters must apply to participate in the program, complete regular training and proficiency testing, and comply with strict safety protocols.

Preserve visitation and hunting do overlap, though our hunters are generally more active at dawn and dusk and they avoid hunting near hiking trails (as hikers often scare away deer). Some visitors chose to wear blaze orange during their visits. As always, dogs must be kept on leash and stay on trails.

You can learn more about our controlled hunting practice here: natlands.org/hunting

09/25/2026

American persimmons are absolutely beloved by our native wildlife! Skunks, foxes, black bears, turkeys, woodpeckers...all these critters (and many more) enjoy this fall fruit.

That’s why we kindly ask all our visitors not to forage. The wild fruits (and other foods) of our preserves belong to the wildlife who call our properties home.

State parks, however, do allow foraging for those who are interested.

📸: Rachel Rhodes

09/18/2026

This salamander is still just a baby, and will rely on the shelter, protection, and moisture of leaf litter to survive to see spring. Please keep this in mind as the leaves begin to fall, and make a plan to leave the leaves wherever and however you can this year.

Remember, one person can’t do everything...but everyone can do something 😊 Even just one extra square-foot of leaves in the yard is better than none.

📸: Preston Wilson

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

Address

240 Sunnyside Road
Easton, PA
18042

Website

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

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