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of a Summer Sunset Cruise

Eco-Cruises are fun, educational tours of the Hackensack River and the NJ Meadowlands aboard Hackensack Riverkeeper's specially-rigged pontoon boats, the Robert H. Boyle and the Edward Abbey. Captain Bill Sheehan started our Eco-Cruise program in 1994 to increase public awareness of the lower Hackensack River watershed as a vital natural and recreational resource. Since then more than 25,000 people have traveled with us. Eco-Cruises generally take between two and two and one-half hours and are fully narrated by a US Coast Guard-licensed Captain.



Our Itineraries

MEADOWLANDS DISCOVERY – These trips take participants on an excursion through the tidal reaches of the Hackensack River and its wildlife-rich estuary, the Meadowlands. The shallow draft of our boats enables us to visit numerous wetlands including Bellman's Creek, the Mill Creek Marsh, Kingsland Creek and the Berry's Creek Canal; but the highlight of every Meadowlands Eco-Cruise is a trip through the Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area – the “The Jewel of the Meadowlands”. The Sawmill WMA is home to a staggering amount of wildlife including shorebirds, waterfowl, herons, raptors, muskrats and more.

BOATING THROUGH BERGEN – Join us for a trip up the Hackensack River from the southern Meadowlands to heart of the city of Hackensack. Taking the same route traveled by the coastal schooners that used to carry cargo to and from Bergen County, we will pass the ruins of their former docks and landings and discuss the region’s all-but-forgotten maritime history. We will travel as far north as the Court Street Bridge and offer participants an opportunity to get an up-close view of the USS Ling – a WW2 Balao-class submarine and centerpiece of the NJ Naval Museum.

EXCURSION AROUND THE BAY – This trip will take you to the mouth of the Hackensack River and beyond into Newark Bay – an integral part of New York Harbor. Among other sights, we will pass Kearny Point, the former site of Federal Shipbuilding, see the region’s last remaining WW2-era shipbuilding crane and  pass the container terminal of Port Newark with its array of ocean-going vessels being loaded and unloaded. We will also explore the bayshore of Bayonne, home to numerous parks and historic sites. If wind and tide make such an excursion unwise, we will substitute a Meadowlands Discovery Eco-Cruise.

PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of itinerary, we endeavor to provide the best wildlife-watching opportunities possible while relating the natural and human history of the region. FYI, ALL OPEN Eco-Cruises originate from the docks at Laurel Hill County Park located at the southern end of Secaucus, NJ. CHARTER Eco-Cruises can be arranged to originate from the Red Roof Inn Meadowlands Marina two miles north of the park, just off Route 3 in Secaucus.