Somerset County is home to some of the most beautiful parks and lush grounds in New Jersey. Among them, Duke Farms and Natirar. Located in Hillsborough, Duke Farms is the brainchild of J.B. Duke, founder of the American Tobacco Company. It is comprised of over 2000 acres of land and features 9 lakes, waterfalls and 35 fountains. Natirar is a 404 acre property located within the municipalities of Peapack/Gladstone, Far Hills and Bedminster. Natirar is an anagram for the Raritan River that meanders for 2 miles across the property. I visited both of these properties with my family recently and as you can see from some of my shots, the grounds are absolutely gorgeous.
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If you plan on making a trip to Duke Farms I would definitely recommend bringing bicycles, otherwise you’ll have quite a bit of walking to do (or in our case, carrying). Although they do offer tram service to parts of the property, my 4-year old Jordan couldn’t quite make it the rest of the way on his own. He spent most of the day riding on Daddy’s shoulders. Here he is taking a rest on Daddy’s lap.
Natirar is much more manageable by foot. However, on the day we visited, we were welcomed by cicada killer wasps. I had never seen one before (and I hope to never see one again). They are supposed to be non-aggressive towards people, but watch out cicadas! Sadly, I didn’t get close enough to get a shot of one but if you click here I think you’ll understand why. 🙂
These are just two of the many locations I like to photograph in Somerset County. Autumn is just around the corner and the lush hills will soon be bursting with spectacular color. Can’t wait!
