Assunpink Lake is not a park, it is a "Wildlife Management Area", and falls under a completely different set of regulations, which you can find here:
- https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/wildlife/wildlife-management-area-regulations
From the state website:
Any vehicle used to transport or launch a vessel or water conveyance on the following WMAs must have affixed to the lower corner of the driver’s side rear window a Boat Ramp Maintenance Permit or a photocopy of a current hunting, fishing or trapping license showing the Conservation ID Number (CID#). Identifying information other than the CID# may be blacked out to protect your identity. Boat Ramp Maintenance Permits may be purchased for a fee of $15.00 from any license agent or Fish and Wildlife’s license Web site (under “Wildlife Management Area Use Permits” after logging in and selecting to make a purchase).
About a mile long, in the Assunpink WMA. To the east you can find two other small lakes in the same watershed: Stone Tavern Lake, and Rising Sun Lake. Assunpink Creek drains into Lake Mercer, which is much larger than any of these.
More: Assunpink Lake - Upper Freehold ...
This lake has a lot of different branches to explore, and you can actually go quite a long way. The two marked sites are the best accesses for the northern and southern branches of the lake. Unfortunately, located in the middle of Asbury Park, the water is not the cleanest, especially near the railroad and toward the drain at the beach. The 'headwaters' are better.
More: Deal Lake - Asbury Park ...
The Delaware & Raritan, or D&R, Canal, is a basically 40-mile-long pond. The water flows very slowly from west to east; it is essentially still. Access points generally coincide with bridges or locks. The map above shows just the northern portion, zoom out to see the whole length from Trenton to New Brunswick.
More: Delaware & Raritan Canal ...
This is the biggest of the lakes and ponds created by damming the Lawrence Brook. The map is centered on the northernmost launch site, which is the most central on the lake. There are two more access points to the south, which can be useful if you want to explore up the Lawrence Brook.
More: Farrington Lake - North Brunswick ...
Lake Lefferts is a man-made lake, the result of the construction in 1928 of Lake Lefferts Dam, which captures and stores the flow of Matawan Creek. This is the nicest spot in northern Monmouth County. The lake is in three parts:
- The lower part that contains the dam and the launch area and extends up to the Route 34 bridge. This part is fairly deep and free of obstructions.
- The upper part from Route 34 to Route 516. This part is much shallower and weedy, especially at the far end.
- An unusable section beyond Route 516. This part is pretty much just mud.
More: Lake Lefferts - Matawan ...
This is about the smallest body of water I would consider - more of a pond than a lake. But it is a nice place. Access could not be easier, the parking lot goes right down to the water. If you live nearby, it is a good place for a quick 'dip'. To go a little farther, you can hop over the railroad tracks and get into the far section and a little ways up the byzantine creek that fills the lake.
More: Lake Manalapan - Jamesburg ...
Lake Mercer 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.
More: Lake Mercer - Windsor ...
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.
More: Laurence Harbor / Cheesequake Creek - Sayreville ...
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 ...
