Turtles, Frogs & Snakes

Turtles love to Conga !

Eastern Painted Turtle

You'll find these medium-sized turtles in any body of water. You will often find them sunning themselves on any convenient perch, watching you. Get too close, and they drop into the water. Rarely, you may encounter a released pet that is tame.


American Bullfrog

Frogs are seldom seen during the day, but easily discovered at night by their eye shine. In fact, it can be disturbing to see just how many of them there are around.


Common Watersnake

This is one of the most common snakes in NJ, inhabiting freshwater streams, ponds, lakes, swamps, marshes, and bogs throughout the state. This snake will likely retreat from you, but if you have to push your luck, this bad-tempered critter can give you a nasty non-venomous bite, and is likely to hold on for quite a while. All snakes are good swimmers, but this one actually likes the water.


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.

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