452 New Providence Road, Mountainside, NJ.
Update: Union county has a great video tour of Trailside check it out, they even repurposed one of our photos:
The Trailside Nature and Science Center is a hidden gem, free to everyone, located in Watchung Reservation, Trailside is a three level nature center with a Discovery Room in the lower level (where we took most of our pictures). I highly recommend visiting, as well as picking up literature on future events/classes. Above picture shows the 2nd level, where there is a cool little theater which shows a 7 minute movie, and also a little wigwam equipped with small benches to sit around a “campfire”.
Lower Level:
The lower level was a big hit with our boys, they had some turtles, frogs and fish. Most of our time was spent in the Discovery room which is located opposite to the picture above. Here are some pictures:
Hours are 10-4pm (Tues-Sun) (Closed Mondays) – as of 9/22/2023 –
For updated information check out the Union county parks website here.
Side note: If you are in luck and the weather is nice, you can easily get to Watchung Reservation’s “The Loop” Playground (we posted this in the Outdoor playground section in Mountainside). It is one of the biggest I’ve seen, and will be including the link in our Best/Biggest section. This area has so much to offer.
