Adventure awaits!

Join us for a fun, free community event, brought to you by the Great Swamp Partners! Play solo or team up with friends and family. The Treasures of the Swamp Scavenger Hunt launches April 26, and the Great Swamp is your playground! Unleash your inner explorer for an afternoon or weekend (it’s up to you) of riddle-solving and treasure-seeking across six beautiful locations. Your clue booklet holds the secrets, and each site unlocks the answers.

What to expect at this family-friendly event: Forest trails, wildlife sightings, code-cracking, and celebratory high-fives as you solve each clue. It’s a great opportunity to experience the incredible natural beauty right here in our back yard!

COST: FREE

LOCATIONS: Begin your exploration at any of the participating locations within the Great Swamp watershed region – visit 1 or all 6 sites in any order – all at your own pace. Your adventure kicks off when you arrive at the first location and receive your clue booklet and instructions from the location leaders.

• Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (GSNWR) / Friends of Great Swamp NWR
  Helen C. Fenske Visitor Center: 32 Pleasant Plains Rd., Basking Ridge
• Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA)
  Conservation Management Area (CMA): 1 Tiger Lily Lane, Harding Twp.
• Morris County Park Commission (MCPC)
  Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center (GSOEC): 247 Southern Blvd., Chatham
• New Jersey Audubon
  Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary: 11 Hardscrabble Rd., Bernardsville
• Somerset County Park Commission (SCPC)
  Environmental Education Center (EEC): 190 Lord Stirling Rd., Basking Ridge
• The Raptor Trust (TRT)
  1452 White Bridge Rd., Millington

YOUR MISSION: Follow and solve the clues that relate to that site. You will need to explore the area to find the answers. Once you complete the challenge, return to location leader to get your booklet stamped. This entitles you to 1 free ticket for a chance to win 1 of 7 very cool prizes! (See below.) Then you’re off to your next destination.

Go at your own pace. You have most of the weekend to visit as many locations as you choose. Every stamp in your booklet earns you another free ticket for the drawings, so the more places you visit, the higher your chance to win swag, private hikes, and the grand prize! Wrap up your hunt with us on Sunday at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center for a festive post-event celebration! Gather around a crackling campfire for adventure sharing, complimentary s’mores, and the eagerly awaited prize drawings!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

• Saturday, April 26
  10 am-4 pm: Scavenger Hunt
• Sunday, April 27
  10 am-2 pm: Scavenger Hunt
  2-3:30 pm: Celebration Event & Raffle Drawing @
  Morris County Park Commission’s Great Swamp OEC – 247 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ
  (Please bring your own chairs if you wish to sit.)

PRIZES:

Partner Prizes (6)
6 Great Swamp Partners have donated prize packages valued $50-$75 each.
Winners do not need to be present to claim these prizes and will be notified how to claim post-event.

Grand Prize (1)
We have a fantastic grand prize package for 1 lucky winner!  Winner must be present to claim the prize:
$150 gift certificate to REI (Donated by the Morris County Park Alliance)
Adult Osprey Hikelite 26 Backpack: value $115 (Donated by OutGrown)
Youth Osprey Moki 1.5 Backpack: value $65 (Donated by OutGrown)