Institute Woods

Institute Woods

A coalition of nonprofit organizations, with support from the New Jersey Green Acres program and Princeton Township, in 2000 preserved as open space a 550-acre property owned by the Institute for Advanced Study. With the cooperation and ongoing financial contribution of the Institute, the coalition protected the Institute Woods and adjacent farmlands. These lands remain under Institute ownership and are not a public park, but the Institute graciously allows members of the public to use the Institute Woods. Flat trails, ideal for leisurely walks, jogging, and cross-country skiing (no wheeled vehicles), lace through the majestic woods, skirting farmlands that offer vistas unchanged since the American Revolution, and running along the Stony Brook past the Charles H. Rogers Wildlife refuge. Walkers can go from the Institute Woods to the D&R Canal towpath by crossing an arm of the Stony Brook on stepping stones.