Great Piece Meadows is a 1000+ acres of more or less untouched wetlands, primarily in Fairfield, NJ. So.. .its a swamp. If you don’t go early in the spring or late in the fall, you will be eaten alive by insects. Also it will be completely overgrown and inaccessible. If you do go in the early spring or late fall, it will still be inaccessible, because its a freaking swamp. Expect to sink into the mud frequently and deeply. It’s technically open to the public for hiking and fishing, but I get the very strong feeling the state doesn’t actually want you there. There are no parking areas that I can find, no easy access(the only way I have found to access the area is parking on a dead-end street and a long walk on a road parallel to the highway past a private hunting preserve), and there are no trails aside from one footpath surrounding the lake.(Presumably made by those fishermen I have never seen) The first time I went there myself, I attracted the attention of a state trooper, who assumed I must have broken down or been kidnapped or something, as he had never seen anyone in those woods. Also, though I said it’s untouched, I meant that there are no trails or official alterations to the land. This doesn’t seem to stop anyone from using it as a communal landfill, however. There are sofas, old tires, various tetanus-inducing metal things, etc. I have never seen anyone else there, but it abuts against a private hunting preserve.. .and although the state land is technically off limits to hunters, I heard turkey calls that were definitely NOT coming from the private land. I would be very afraid to return, and possibly become a target for poachers. On the plus side, if you can avoid being shot, it is very isolated, and very serene.
