Barnegat Bay Decoy
& Baymen’s Museum
At the entrance porch to the museum is a replica hunting shanty with
a lifelike display of "master" carver, Harry V. Shourds, a
world class decoy carver and one of Tuckerton’s famous baymen.
Museum exhibits illustrate the life of a Barnegat Bay bayman—hunting,
fishing, clamming, oystering, boat building, decoy carving, charter
fishing—and the history of the U.S. Life Saving Service along the
Jersey shore. The Museum has recently been incorporated into the Tuckerton
Seaport project.
Directions: From exit 58 on
the Garden State Parkway, follow county road 539 southeast to Tuckerton.
Proceed south on US 9, to Tip Seaman Park.
Hours: The
Barnegat Bay Museum/Tuckerton Seaport is open Wednesday through
Sunday from 11:00am to 4:00pm.
Telephone: (609) 296-8868.
Barnegat
Lighthouse State Park
Towering 165 feet, the Barnegat Lighthouse was
erected in 1857-58 to warn mariners of Barnegat Inlet’s dangerous
shoals and to guide trans-Atlantic ships toward New York Harbor. Ship
Captains, who wanted a coastal light, complained frequently in the 1850s
that under good conditions, the original 40 foot lighthouse could be
seen for ten miles. But, if the weather was hazy, no one could tell
if the light was from the lighthouse tower or from another ship.
The lighthouse was turned over to the state park system in 1944, and
now thousands of visitors climb its tower annually. It is probably one
of the most photographed lighthouses in the state.
The park also contains several habitats typical of barrier islands.
The sandy beach is the breeding site of several beach nesting birds,
such as the endangered piping plover. Barnegat Lighthouse is also a
good area for observing the fall warbler migrations.
A short self-guided loop trail provides an opportunity to explore one
of the last remaining maritime forests on Long Beach Island. The bayside
provides a great view of Barnegat Inlet, Barnegat Bay, and Barnegat
Estuary. Picnicking, fishing, beach walking, and birding are just a
few of the recreational opportunities.
Directions: From the Garden
State Parkway, take exit 63. Follow state road 72 east onto Long Beach
Island, then north on county road 607 to the very north end of the island.
Hours: The park is open daily,
and the lighthouse is open throughout the summer and only on weekends
in the spring and fall.
Telephone: (609) 494-2016.
Cattus Island
County Park
Cattus Island was dedicated by The Board of Chosen
Freeholders for nature conservation and education. Examples of numerous
vegetation communities can be found in the park. Look for salt marshes,
pine-oak forest, white cedar swamps, freshwater bogs, maple gum swamps,
and successional fields. Close to 300 plant species grow here.
The Cooper Environmental Center is on site with restrooms, interpretive
exhibits, and conducted programs.
Directions: From exit 82 of
the Garden State Parkway, take state road 37 east through Toms River
then right at the Fischer Blvd, jughandle. Follow county road SPUR549
(Fischer Blvd) north to the third traffic light, and make a right hand
turn onto Cattus Island Blvd. The park entrance is immediately to the
left.
Hours: The park is open daily
from dawn to dusk. The Environmental Center is open during the summer
from 9:00am to 4:00pm and in the winter 10:00am to 4:00pm.
Telephone: (732) 270-6960.
Double Trouble
State Park
Although set aside for its historic
village, Double Trouble is located in the heart of the Pinelands National
Reserve. Explore cedar swamps, peat bogs, and cultivated cranberry bogs.
Cedar Creek flows through the park and represents a prime example of
the high water quality found in Pinelands freshwater streams. The 5,000
acre park provides recreational opportunities and many unusual botanical
natural treasures: carnivorous plants, fire-dependent forests, and underground
aquifers.
Hiking, bird-watching, canoeing, and picnicking are several of the
recreational opportunities available.
Directions: From exit 74 of
the Garden State Parkway, turn east onto county road 614 (Lacey Rd.)
Make a left onto Manchester Blvd, then left again onto Western Blvd.
At the stop sign, make a left onto CR618 (Pinewald-Keswick Rd.) The
park entrance will be on your left. From exit 80 of the Garden State
Parkway, make a left off the ramp onto CR619 (Double Trouble Rd.) Proceed
straight through to the stop sign at CR 618 (Pinewald-Keswick Rd.) The
park entrance is straight ahead across CR618.
Hours: The park is open daily
from dawn to dusk.
Telephone: (732) 793-0506.
Eno’s
Pond County Park
This beautiful 28-acre park provides a great opportunity for exploring
coastal habitats. A series of interwoven trails leads hikers to the
discovery of salt marshes, Eno’s Pond, maritime forests, and Bridge
Creek. Part of the trails run through Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife
Refuge. One loop trail is ADA accessible. Picnicking, hiking, and bird-watching
are common activities here. There is also a playground for the children
to enjoy.
Directions: Take exit 74 of the Garden State Parkway and bear
right onto Lacey Road east (CR614). Continue on Lacey Road across US9,
and past the Captain’s Inn. The entrance to Eno’s is on the
left near the end of the road.
Hours: The park is open daily, from 7:30am to a half hour before
sunset.
Telephone: (609) 971-3085.
Forked
River State Marina
This beautifully maintained marina contains 125 slips in the 20 to
55 foot range and has become a focal point for the community of Forked
River. The site on which the administration building now stands formerly
housed a full service gas station. The old building was demolished and
the new facility constructed in 1990.
Directions: Take exit 69 of
the Garden State Parkway northbound, onto county road 532 and east to
US9 north. Southbound from the GSP, take exit 74 to CR614 (Lacey Road),
and east to US9 south. The marina is located on US9, approximately nine
miles south of the Toms River area.
Hours: The office is open
Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Telephone: (609) 693-5045.
Great Bay
Boulevard Wildlife Management Area
The 3,965 acre wildlife management area was purchased with federal
Aid-to-Wildlife Funds, the Waterfowl Stamp Program, and the Green Acres
Program. The salt marsh area is heavily utilized by waterfowl and nesting
shorebirds. During the spring migration, sandpipers, red knots, dowitchers,
curlews, willets, plovers, turnstones, and yellow-legs feed and rest
in the marsh grasses.
Salt water fishing may bring a catch of striped bass, weakfish, fluke,
founder, white perch, sea bass, sharks, and bluefish. There is also
excellent clamming, but state licenses are required. Boat launching
ramps are accessible from the road.
Directions: From US9, take
Great Bay Boulevard just south of Tuckerton.
Hours: This unmanaged area
is open daily from dawn to dusk.
Telephone: NJ Division of
FG&W (609) 292-9450.
Island
Beach State Park
One of the best examples
of barrier island ecosystems. The sandy beach on the ocean side blends
into the coastal sand dunes formed by the wind and held in place by
American beach grass and beach heather. More plants grow on the dunes
farther from the ocean’s salt spray and in the protected depressions
between the dunes. Even trees have taken root to form a maritime forest.
Look for gulls and terns, red fox, turtles, and other inhabitants of
the barrier island habitat. This is also home for New Jersey’s
largest nesting osprey colony.
The wildlife migrations at Island Beach are often spectacular and are
not limited to birds. Although warblers and waterfowl are the more popular
migrants, butterflies, bluefish, striped bass, marine mammals, and sea
turtles also migrate through the area.
Island Beach State Park offers naturalist-conducted activities, an
interpretive center, a nature center, trails, guided canoe trips, and
beach recreation. A fully accessible "beach to bay" boardwalk
trail provides interpretive opportunities and a unique transect of a
barrier island. An entrance fee is charged at the gate.
LSS Station #14: The evolving history of the U.S. Life Saving Service
can still be found along New Jersey’s barrier islands. At one time,
three life saving stations provided shore rescue services for Island
Beach. This site, now the park maintenance facility, was the original
station #14 (later identified as #110) when the U.S. Life Saving Service
began in 1848. By 1915, approximately 178,000 people, shipwrecked along
the Atlantic seaboard, owed their lives to the heroic efforts of the
LSS.
An interpretive exhibit explains the role of the U.S. Life Saving Service
along the Jersey Shore.
Directions: From the Garden
State Parkway take exit 82 to state road 37, east through Toms River
and across Barnegat Bay to Island Beach. Turn south to Seaside Park
via county road 35.
Hours: Open weekdays from
8:00am to 8:00pm (or until dark) and on weekends from 7:00am to 8:00pm
(or until dark).
Telephone: (732) 793-0506.
Toms River Seaport Society Museum
The Society’s headquarters and
museum was once the carriage house for the famous inventor, Joseph Francis.
His corrugated metal "lifecar" is credited with saving thousands
of lives—victims of shipwrecks along the Atlantic coast and around
the world. The museum includes a boat workshop and display sheds.
The working museum exhibits and actively refurbishes more than 25 indigenous
watercraft, including the Barnegat Bay Sneak Box and the Jersey Skiff.
These were specialized craft developed by mariners and local "baymen"
to harvest waterfowl, clams, crabs, fish, and oysters.
Directions: From exit 81 of
the Garden State Parkway, follow Water Street east to Hooper Avenue.
The museum is located at 78 Water Street, with parking on Hooper Avenue.
Hours: The museum is open
Tuesday and Saturday (except holidays) from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
Telephone: (732) 349-9209.
U.S. Coast Guard Station, Barnegat Light
Perhaps one of the most treacherous of New Jersey’s barrier island
inlets, this central coast area suffered nearly 200 shipwrecks within
a ten year period during the 1840s. Today, the crew of Coast Guard Station,
Barnegat Light provides assistance to boaters who have trouble navigating
the strong waves and shifting sands of the inlet.
An interpretive wayside exhibit explains the role of the U.S.
Coast Guard in the history of our nation’s maritime developments.
Directions: From exit 63 or
63A of the Garden State Parkway, follow state road 72 east to Long Beach
Island. Turn north on county road 607 to the far north end of the island.
The station, located on the corner of 6th and Bayview.
Hours: Open daily unless the
crew is called out on an emergency.
Telephone: (609) 494-2680.
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Last updated:
March 26, 2001
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