NJCC: Rainier Traditional Geocache

North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge
Checkpoint Rainier



Welcome to Greenwood Gardens/Old Short Hills Park/ South Mountain Reservation in Millburn, NJ. This cache will fulfill the “Rainier” requirement for the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge.

Greenwood Gardens, with its terraced gardens, meadows, woodlands, grottos and teahouses, is a 28-acre oasis… the only views are tree-covered mountains, and the only sounds are birds singing.

Purchased in 1906 by Joseph P. Day, a pioneer of the major real estate auction, the estate sprawled over 70 acres. After being destroyed by fire in 1911, Day replaced the original home with a 28-room Italianate mansion, which he named Pleasant Days. During its prime in the 1920s and 30s, the estate was the scene of many parties for the Days' large family. Following Mr. Day's death in 1944, the estate was subdivided and sold at auction. Twenty six acres of the property, including the mansion and gardens were kept intact. The remaining property, including two cottages and a carriage house, was sold separately.

In 1949, Peter P. Blanchard, Jr., and his wife, Dr. Adelaide Childs Frick Blanchard, purchased the house and gardens as a country retreat. By this time, the Day house had deteriorated significantly, so the Blanchards replaced it with a smaller house in the Colonial Revival style. Keeping the original Day-era gardens, they added their own ornaments and plantings and changed the name of the estate to The Greenwoods. After Mrs. Blanchard's untimely death in 1956, Mr. Blanchard continued to expand the gardens. With an eye on the distant future, he reassembled the property once owned by Joseph Day that had been purchased by separate owners in the 1940s. Once again the gardens were whole. Mr. Blanchard then donated more than 48 acres of his property, including the rolling meadow that was once the golf course of Pleasant Days, to Millburn Township for the establishment of Old Short Hills Park.

Following his death in 2000, Blanchard’s wish for the long-term preservation of the property was honored. With the help of the Garden Conservancy, community activists, and supporters, a nonprofit organization was formed to own, restore, and manage Greenwood Gardens. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the site’s original sweeping vista has been preserved and is extended on all sides by designated parkland, including South Mountain Reservation; a 2,100 acre mini-Adirondacks. Part of the Essex County Park System, South Mountain was where Washington stood to watch the British in New York Harbor. Greenwood Gardens is one of only 16 exceptional gardens in the country endorsed by the Garden Conservancy. After nearly a century of private ownership, today Greenwood Gardens is open to and supported by the public. Due to ongoing restoration, tours are by appointment only and there is an entry fee to view the estate.

It is not necessary to pay an entry fee to find the cache. It is placed outside Greenwood Gardens.

Official NJCC Information

The Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) are sponsoring the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge series. This challenge is intended to take geocachers on a tour of Northern New Jersey (loosely defined as north of I-78) while finding caches placed by members of the NNJC. On the tour, we hope you will find North Jersey an interesting and beautiful part of our great state.

Scattered around the area are 26 checkpoint caches and a final challenge cache - North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge (GC1NNJC). The names of the individual checkpoint caches are based on a phonetic alphabet using mountain names since North Jersey is the mountainous region of the state. The 26 checkpoints do not have to be completed in any particular order. See the NJCheckpoint bookmark for the complete list of caches.

Hidden within the 26 checkpoint caches are numbers to be used in determining the coordinates of the final North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge cache – please be sure to note them while you are there.

While there are no special logging requirements for the 26 checkpoint caches, there are special logging requirements for the final challenge cache. Complete information can be found on the North Jersey Checkpoint Challenge (GC1NNJC) cache page.

This cache is certified North Jersey