You can maximize this map and then zoom and scroll around it. You can also turn on roads and labels. All 21 counties have their own pages, and some of the markers have links to their own pages as well. At last count, there are over 500 markers. The county lines are rather crudely drawn, but good enough.
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This is a difficult area to even gain access to, for a number of reasons:
Almost the entire waterfront in Old Bridge township is now fenced-off. This is because not that many years ago, the jetties and seawalls were constructed not from rock, but from slag from a lead foundry in Perth Amboy. The slag was later determined to be toxic - what a surprise! Supposedly, much of it has been cleaned up, but the whole area remains 'off-limits'. Since the poisons leach into the water and are carried off by the currents, you really have to wonder about the entire bay.
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Parking and launch access are free. There can be a good deal of boat traffic on the river, especially ferries, but if you are careful, you can paddle around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The museum in the old railroad/ferry terminal is another point of interest.
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The Manasquan Canal is off-limits.
More of a pond than a lake, only about half a mile long, but accessible in Thompson Park. Never actually been there. Nearby Swimming River Reservoir is completely off-limits, even to the people that live on it!
More: Marlu Lake - Tinton Falls ...
Mercer Lake is actually a big gravel pit that was dug out for highway fill. In 1975, someone got the bright idea of damming it off, and it turned into one of the nicest lakes in the state. The lake fills from a creek to the east, and the water is very clean. Mercer county turned the whole area into a beautiful park, great for all sorts of other activities as well.
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The Manasquan Canal is off-limits.
The Swimming River is to the west. Once a decrepit old marina that even charged kayaks for the boat ramp, it is now a lovely county park, and free to use.
More: Navesink River ...
This map shows the trips described in this article.
Hover over marker for name.
by Andrée Jannette
New Jersey Outdoors
Spring 1998
$4.25
If you don't know how to turn your canoe on a dime when you put in at your first Pinelands river, you will by the time you finish. These are narrow, winding rivers, full of sweeping curves and sharply angled switchbacks. Yet these twists and turns are very much a part of the mystique and the delight of paddling in New Jersey's Pinelands.
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This is a nice clean lake that straddles the border between Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The neat thing about it is, if you scroll the map to the upper-right corner, that is not some industrial park, that is Great Adventure! This is the lake that is at the back of the park. At the east end of the lake, you are looking up at all the rides, while to the south is the Safari Park. You can see more water from there, but I wouldn't jump any of the dykes, as that would put you on Great Adventure's property, or maybe in the lion pen. It's not a big lake, but there is plenty of shoreline to inspect. There is a small dam at the western end. No real facilities, just parking.
More: Prospertown Lake - Jackson ...