A Day at Duke Farms

 

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

It’s not called the Garden State for nothing.

Smack dab in the middle of New Jersey, on the Raritan River, lies Duke Farms.

The former home of James Buchanan Duke, and then his daughter Doris Duke, who left the 2,700 acre estate to the people as well as to be a place for conservation research.  (That pic above – it’s the old horse barn)!

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

 J.B. Duke loved water and there is a pond, reservoir, waterfall, or lake around every bend.

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

One of my favorite flowers – orchids – are displayed in the conservatory.

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

Each path leads to an even more beautiful building …

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

 or spectacular view.

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

When you’re a billionaire, you’re entitled to change your mind about where you’re going to put your house.

Here lies the old stone foundation where Duke planned on putting his mansion before he decided to build it elsewhere on the property.

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

Across from a small pond sits the Duke mansion which I only caught a glimpse from afar since it’s not open to the public.

Duke Farms Hillsborough NJ - a great way to spend a day in the country

A fabulous day in the country (minus the tick I found crawling on my hand when I got home)!

 

Meandering around Duke Farms is a great way to spend the day.  Walk, bike (bring your own or use one of theirs) or jump on a tram when your feet start to ache.

Best part – it’s Free (which frees up my money to use on the NJ boardwalk trying to win one of those giant stuffed bananas)!

Duke Farms – Hillsborough NJ.

 

I get around – check out all of my outings here.

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9 Comments

  1. Yowzer! That gives a whole new meaning to the word “farm”. Trust me, our horse barn looks nothing like that! What a lovely place! ( We don’t even have horses, but if we did, they wouldn’t live in that kind of luxury!)

  2. I would love to tour Duke Farms!…I live just “around the corner” from Duke University and one of my favorite gardens is the Duke Gardens….it is phenomenal…!…The conservatory looks beautiful and love orchids too!!…
    Thanks for presenting this Kelly…I have placed this in my “must see” folder!!

  3. I love seeing this hidden gems on peoplel’s blogs! I would have never known about this! Wow, what a gorgeous place to visit. I could almost smell the flowers and greenery!

  4. What a wonderful place! We just moved to Trenton, to a new farm. It’s only an hour’s drive from Duke’s farm. This place will certainly get onto the list of must-visit places. Thank you for sharing.

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