• Winter sunrise, Kittatinny Ridge

    Delaware Water Gap

    National Recreation Area NJ,PA

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    Childs Park opens May 25. Dingmans Falls, Blue Mt Lakes/Skyline and unpaved Old Mine roads are open. STILL CLOSED PA: Mt. Minsi spur trails closed due to falcon nesting; Hornbecks & Adams Trails closed; McDade Trail closed trail miles 24.5 to 27.5 More »

Poison Ivy and Your Safety

poison ivy in the fall

Poison Ivy

Leaves of three, let them be. Poison ivy (Rhus radicans) grows plentifully along roadsides, trails, the river, and the edges of fields and parking lots, as a vine or a low shrub. The leaves are red in early spring, shiny green in summer, and an attractive red or orange in the fall. Each leaf consists of three leaflets.

Most people are sensitive in varying degrees to the sap of this plant, which makes skin itch, blister, and swell.

 

Prevention

  • Avoid contact with all parts of the plant.
  • If exposed, wash the affected skin with soap and water as soon as possible. It takes several minutes for the sap to penetrate the skin.
  • Remember: Leaves of three, let them be. Avoid plants with three leaflets.

Did You Know?

2012_dykHEMLOCK

... that hemlock groves in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area are threatened by a non-native insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Hemlocks provide shade for spectacular rhodondenron, for trout streams, and for native wildflowers. As hemlocks weaken and die, they are cut down for your safety. More...