Shark River Park

Image by tedkerwin via FlickrImage by tedkerwin via FlickrImage by tedkerwin via FlickrImage by tedkerwin via FlickrImage by OurMonmouth via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by jisanski via FlickrImage by OurMonmouth via FlickrImage by OurMonmouth via FlickrImage by OurMonmouth via FlickrImage by OurMonmouth via FlickrMonmouth County has a great county park system, and the first park in this system was Shark River Park, established in 1960 from extra land left over from the construction of the Garden State Parkway. It is 957 acres in size and is home to several recreational activities such as fishing, hiking, cross country skiing and ice skating. The skating takes place on the pond, which is also home to largemouth bass, catfish, sunfish, yellow perch, shiners and black crappie. And the actual Shark River which gives the park its name is stocked with trout. By the way, check to see if conditions are right for skating on the pond, or you may die. There are also 9 miles of trails, including Bridge Loop (0.4 miles), Cedar Loop (1.2 miles), Hidden Creek Trail (2 miles), Pine Hills (1.4 miles), Shark River Run (2.4 miles) and the short but challenging 1 mile River's Edge Trail, which follows Shark River along its north bank. One of my fondest memories is walking around with my father trying to see if I could see the Glendora Reservoir which borders the park. I wound up in a dense jungle of vegetation and pressed up against a chain-link fence that separated us from our desired destination. No luck getting to the reservoir, but when we finally emerged from the thicket, we were covered with an incredible variety of insects that really creeped me out. I believe some of them were ticks, but we never wound up getting the dreaded Lyme Disease. Neptune, Wall.