Catch The Colors Of Fall Before It’s Too Late
By Catherine Galioto | Micromedia Publications LLC.
You’ve got your mittens and a thermos full of hot chocolate, and dusted off your fall boots. All you need is some recommendations of the best spots to enjoy fall foliage – before the coming cold weather blows all the reds, yellows and browns away and leaves behind a winter of bare branches.
It’s not too late. Here are some great local spots to enjoy an autumn jaunt. Take a crunchy, leaf-fallen walk down these parks’ paths and enjoy some seasonal, natural beauty.
Allaire State Park, Farmingdale – With 20 miles of trails, a railroad and the Historic Village of Allaire, this state park gives you plenty of reasons to enjoy fall. Trails go through oak and pine forests, and you’ll find a trail for every level of experience and across lots of different features, whether through sandy hills of the pine forest, across former farmland, or the historic company town. The village often hosts special events, and the on-site visitors center will help you enjoy the sights and sounds even more. Check out state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/allaire.
Cattus Island County Park, Toms River – Off Fischer Boulevard is another county park, showing the diversity between the ecosystems that line Barnegat Bay, in Cattus Island. The sprawling park has trails both through the woods (tall pitch pine, oak and cedar) and along the marsh. There’s also an often-updated list at the nature center of recent species spotted in the park, such as red fox and birds, to help you enjoy nature there.
Double Trouble State Park, Berkeley – A former company town, Double Trouble still has several of the buildings used for sawmill and cranberry-sorting productions. It also has beautiful open space in the former bogs among its 8,495 acres, the 200-acre former village, and Cedar Creek’s canoeing and kayaking.
Forge Pond, Brick – Why walk among fall foliage when you can kayak? Forge Pond is lined with beautiful trees that are at peak color this time of year, but it’s also a bird sanctuary, and the pond is a great place to kayak. There’s entrances to Forge Pond off Route 70, near the Jersey Paddler, or enjoy the more manicured option at the county golf course, also called Forge Pond.
Georgian Court University, Lakewood – The former winter estate of George Jay Gould, millionaire son of railroad tycoon Jay Gould, Georgian Court University is a campus on the National Landmark of Historic Places. An arboretum was established there in 1989, over 100 acres of the campus with more than 2,000 examples of woody species, with 19 spots of note mentioned in the arboretum brochure (at georgian.edu/arboretum), including an area of historic trees. To find out what’s beautiful as you had out, check out georgian.edu/arboretum/seasonal. The site is open to visitors from 8 a.m. to dusk.
Jake’s Branch County Park, Beachwood – Not far from Double Trouble State Park is another example of natural beauty in the county park named after a branch of the Toms River. Jake’s Branch, besides featuring the natural resources of the area in trails and nature programs, has an amazing sightseeing spot atop its nature center. The observation deck is high above the trees, giving you a glimpse for miles.
Ocean County Rail Trail, Barnegat to Berkeley – With plans to eventually connect all portions from Barnegat to South Toms River, the Barnegat Branch Trail scoots through those towns in portions that are right along Route 9, but elsewhere are through wooded areas and places more serene. A great trail to ride your bike on, the route is an ongoing project of Ocean County Planning Department that lies primarily along the abandoned Barnegat Branch Division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, with some road and sidewalk connections along the way.
Want more spots to check out? The state and county’s respective park systems can help. Visit Ocean County Parks at co.ocean.nj.us/OCParks; Monmouth County at monmouthcountyparks.com; and state parks at state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/parkindex.
