Photo by and courtesy of Nitin Mukul
You can thank my mom for this week’s day trip. If she wasn’t recently in a physical rehabilitation facility I may not have known the town of Hillsborough, NJ, even existed, let alone the beautiful 1,000+ acre preserve and environmental education center located there.
Photo by and courtesy of Nitin Mukul
Following my GPS one day I passed a road surrounded by ancient looking high stone walls made from boulders and only woods beyond them. I saw the sign for Duke Farms and made a note to look it up. The Duke in the title is connected to Doris Duke, an heiress with a passion for Islamic art and protecting the environment. The land was left to her by her father in 1925. 
Photo by and courtesy of Nitin Mukul
A series of walking or biking paths take you past nine lakes, a meditation center and an arboretum with two orchid rooms. They also provide mobility assistance via an accessibility shuttle by reservation. Check its website for what services and features are currently available, since some are seasonal and some affected by Covid-19 protocols.
—Nitin Mukul
Thank you for this article and the accompanying gorgeous pictures. I’ve always wanted to visit Duke Farms.
I would just like to let you know I was born and raised on dukes estate we lived in the house on the farm,first house on the left.