Cook Natural Area
Cook Natural Area is a nature reserve in New Jersey, at a recorded elevation of 21 m. Hell Mountain stands 288 m to the north-northwest, 24 miles off. The nearest named place is Mapleton Preserve, a nature reserve 0.4 miles away. Millstone Valley Scenic Byway passes 0.4 miles off. 39 named summits stand within 25 miles.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 21 m
How to reach it
- 0.4 mi off the Millstone Valley Scenic Byway, National
- 12.9 mi off the Upper Freehold Historic Farmland Byway
- 13.7 mi off the Delaware River Scenic Byway, National
Overlooks nearby
- Scenic Overlook - Delaware River · 15 mi
- Goat Hill Overlook · 18 mi
- South Overlook · 18 mi
- Old Mill Overlook · 18 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Mapleton Preserve: 0.4 mi
- Heathcote Park: 0.7 mi
- Van Dyke Wright Park: 1.7 mi
- Autumn Hill Reservation: 1.8 mi
- Herrontown Woods: 2.0 mi
- Barbara Smoyer Park: 1.5 mi
- Schalks Meadow Park: 1.7 mi
- Panicaro Park: 2.3 mi
- Grover Park: 2.3 mi
- Potts Park: 2.4 mi
- Upstart II: 2.8 mi
- URODA: 2.8 mi
- The Hedgehog and the Fox: 3.0 mi
- Five Disks: One Empty: 3.0 mi
- Construction in the Third and Fourth Dimension: 3.0 mi
- Historic Wicoff House Museum: 2.9 mi
- Morven Museum: 3.6 mi
- Historical Society Of Princeton: 5.3 mi
- Cranbury Museum: 6.3 mi
- Cranbury Firehouse Museum: 6.4 mi
- Heritage Tour - 19: 3.2 mi
- Princeton Battle Monument: 3.5 mi
- Grovers Mill Historic Comminity: 3.9 mi
- Iconic Colonade: 4.6 mi
- Chou, Liao, and Lin Family Open Space Monument: 5.8 mi
- Fuld Hall: 4.3 mi
- Pond dialogue: 4.3 mi
- Stony Brook Swinging Bridge: 4.4 mi
- Grounds For Sculpture: 11.2 mi
- Lake Ceva Pavilion: 11.4 mi
- Herrontown Woods Arboretum: 1.8 mi
- Plainsboro community gardens: 2.7 mi
- Prospect Gardens: 3.2 mi
- Birch Garden: 4.3 mi
- Franklin Park Garden Cooperative: 6.0 mi
- Rocky Hill: 2.8 mi
- Tenmile Run Mountain: 3.8 mi
- Bunker Hill: 5.0 mi
- Mount Rose: 6.1 mi
- Pheasant Hill: 7.6 mi
- Picnic Area: 5.3 mi
- Inman Park Picnic Grove: 10.2 mi
- Student Picnic Area: 11.1 mi
- Alumni Grove: 11.4 mi
- Grove 1: 12.4 mi
- Hooks Creek Lake Beach: 18.3 mi
- Paul's Beach: 19.5 mi
- Laurence Harbor Beach: 19.9 mi
- Turkey Swamp Park: 20.1 mi
- Seidler Beach: 20.4 mi
- Molly Pitcher Service Area: 7.2 mi
- Richard Stockton Travel Plaza: 13.5 mi
- Woodrow Wilson Service Area: 13.6 mi
- Cushetunk Rest Area: 18.3 mi
- Grover Cleveland Service Area: 22.1 mi
- Gold Run: 13.5 mi
- Buttermilk Falls: 15.0 mi
- High Falls: 22.4 mi
- Seele: 23.0 mi
- Raritan Landing: 12.3 mi
- Barber: 21.3 mi
- Feltville Historic District: 24.3 mi
- Old Quarry: 17.7 mi
- Washington's Rock: 17.7 mi
- Devil's Tea Table: 24.9 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Cook Natural Area. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hell Mountain | NNW 335° | 288 m | 24.3 mi |
| Cushetunk Mountain | NW 324° | 254 m | 19.4 mi |
| Mine Mountain | N 0° | 251 m | 24.2 mi |
| Round Mountain | NW 317° | 186 m | 18.4 mi |
| Sourland Mountain | NW 316° | 171 m | 9.1 mi |
| Second Watchung Mountain | N 11° | 168 m | 16.3 mi |
| Round Top | NNW 337° | 162 m | 22.6 mi |
| Buckingham Mountain | W 261° | 158 m | 23.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:03 | 18:35 | 19:11 |
| June solstice | 05:29 | 19:52 | 20:33 |
| September equinox | 06:47 | 18:21 | 18:57 |
| December solstice | 07:19 | 15:52 | 16:36 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 33 | 40 | 51 | 61 | 70 | 75 | 73 | 66 | 54 | 44 | 36 |
| Precip in | 3.5 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Hightstown 2 W, 8 mi away.
- Great Blue Heron55 obs
- common mugwort39 obs
- multiflora rose36 obs
- Canada Goose32 obs
- White-tailed Deer32 obs
- Spotted Lanternfly29 obs
- lesser celandine27 obs
- Japanese honeysuckle25 obs
Research-grade iNaturalist community observations within 3 km — what people have recorded, not a species inventory.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element way/956960935
Day trips start here
- Princeton · 3 mi
- Montgomery Township · 5 mi
- West Windsor · 6 mi
- Belle Mead · 7 mi
- Hightstown · 8 mi
- Mercer County · 8 mi
Take the scenic way to Cook Natural Area.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.