Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve
The Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve is plush, natural haven spread over 220 acres and situated in the heart of Egg Harbor Township, NJ. The sanctuary houses an environmental learning center, a protected forest and a lake. It also offers a wide variety of activities for nature lovers including fishing and bird watching. It has become a favourite retreat among the locals and tourists, who spend every minute basking in this natural space.
This park offers varied terrain for mountain biking and hiking. With the trails situated alongside the perimeters of the lake, the view is pretty scenic to watch. From smooth switchbacks to jumps, steep downhills to a few water crossings, the park has plenty of options for all the visitors, including the hardcore riders who are in search of some challenging spots.
Open from sunrise to sunset, the park is dog friendly (leashed), however it might lack in seating space as there are hardly any benches to sit around.
The reserve is host to around 48 different species of trees found throughout the area. The 45 acre man made lake waters from the subterranean springs and is surrounded by a 35 acres land of upland areas, used by the visitors for various purposes like walking, running, and biking. The uplands is also home to various wildlife organisms like reptiles, amphibians, wading and migratory birds and falcons.
Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve LLC, a non-profit organization, has taken the onus of restoring and upgrading the site with the assistance of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Tremendous efforts like cleaning up, adding new parking and trails systems, native vegetation, sapling plantations have been taken by enthusiastic volunteers. To realize the full potential of the park, they also have plans to include outdoor fitness workout stations, informative signage, picnic tables, benches, decks, gazebos and ADA-compliant accessibility. The time is not too far to see this park transforming into an environmental and recreational jewel of South Jersey.
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