Mianus River Gorge

Less than forty miles from Manhattan, the Mianus River Gorge (MRG) is an oasis of rich woodland and old-growth forest, one hour’s drive from New York City. The Preserve was established in 1953 to protect an old-growth hemlock forest and received the special designation as the first Nature Conservancy land project and the first National Natural History Landmark designated by the US Department of the Interior.

The wild Mianus River rushes through a steep gorge on its way to Long Island Sound. On its cool, moist banks, a magnificent cathedral of 350-year-old hemlocks stands more than 100 feet tall, and beyond the river, lush fern gullies surround the lovely Havemeyer Falls. At the Hobby Hill Quarry in the middle of the preserve, 18th-century mining left a gorgeous mosaic of mica, feldspar and quartz.

The Nature Conservancy holds title to 575 acres, while the remaining 389 acres is owned by the Mianus River Gorge, Inc., a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation that now manages the entire preserve.

The cool, moist microclimate of the gorge provides the ideal environment for the growth of a hardwood forest community of eastern hemlock, American beech and oak that is usually found in areas farther north, while the highland areas contain more oak. Some areas, recently cleared by people or by fire, display various stages of forest succession, with juniper, gray birch, dogwood, highbush blueberry and locust. More than 30 species of ferns have been identified at Mianus, including hay-scented, New York and bladder ferns. Look for bobcats, long-tailed weasels, wood turtles, eastern gray treefrogs, northern dusky salamanders, white-tailed deer and eastern turkeys.