The projected weather for this weekend has me howling with excitement. Or at least, yapping away at my laptop, penning lupine puns. Anyway, if you have any inclination to spend the gorgeous weekend outdoors, consider a day trip out west to the Lakota Wolf Preserve, in Columbia, New Jersey.
The preserve was opened 11 years ago by wildlife photographer Dan Bacon, who was alarmed by conditions on some of the nature preserves he visited. He and his wife Pam, along with business partner Jim Stein, opened the Lakota Wolf Preserve in hopes of educating the public and providing better living conditions for the animals. “Lakota is the name of a Sioux Indian tribe from the Dakotas. Our first and favorite wolf was named after them, and we named the preserve after her,” says Stein.
Lakota currently houses 24 Artic, Tundra, and Timber wolves, all subspecies of the Gray Wolf, on ten acres of land. In addition to wolves, the Preserve also keeps bobcats and foxes. All animals were either born on the preserve or taken from captivity. “Now’s a good time to see the wolves. We’re open year-round, but when it gets hot during the summer, the wolves don’t do much, just lie around and try to stay cool. Right now they’re active,” says Stein.
Educational tours are offered twice a day; photography sessions can be also be booked, with guidance from photographer Dan Bacon if needed. I visited the preserve last fall, and then spent the rest of the day hiking the Appalachian Trail through the Delaware Water Gap area. Have other Jersey day trips planned for the lovely weekend? Better canine jokes? Share in the comments thread!
Photos by Jim Stein
Great day trip! The staff are super knowledgeable and it makes for a very fun afternoon. A must do thing in NJ. When leaving the reserve, make a left onto the main road (forget the name) and go about 1/2 mile. There’s a great local vineyard (Brook Holllow Vineyards) not too far from the preserve that does wine tastings on the weekend. It’s a nice drive out there as well.