The Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area in Ocean County is 5,982 acres of fresh, brackish and saltwater estuary and islands acquired with funding from hunters and anglers, Green Acres and the sale of waterfowl stamps. The boulevard is a narrow two-lane road that was the beginning of a causeway to the shore that would have connected Great Bay to Atlantic City.
The road was never opened, but now provides access to a great sweep of salt marsh, with opportunities for fishing, birdwatching or simply enjoying the beautiful scenery. Great Bay is considered one of the least-disturbed marine wetland habitats in the northeastern United States.
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.
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.
