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I recently had the chance to visit the Celery Farm, this time in summer. It was a steamy day and there was a volunteer spraying garlic in the brush to keep the deer at bay. Unfortunately mosquitoes are undeterred by garlic, though the volunteer assured me that the dragonflies were eating the mosquitoes at this time of year.

The Celery Farm is a 107-acre wetland preserve in Allendale, New Jersey. The park was once a celery farm and was part of the John Fell estate, dating back to the Revolutionary War era. You can see my post about the John Fell House, which is across the street from the preserve, by clicking here.

In the 1950s, a non-profit organization called Fyke formed with the mission of saving some of Bergen County’s last undeveloped tracts of land. Today, this group maintains the trails and viewing platforms in the Celery Farm.

The preserve is an important habitat for birds…over 240 species have been seen here and it is a breeding site for over 50 bird species. This visit I saw a lot of deer…they found plenty to munch on that hadn’t been sprayed with garlic.

The main trail is an easy level loop around a large lake. In the summer, the reeds were so high in most places that the lake wasn’t visible.

Location: Franklin Turnpike, Allendale, NJ 07401

Designation: Preserve and Bird Sanctuary

Date designated or established: 1952

Date of my visit: August 3, 2019