Barnegat Rail Trail Walk June 6

The Barnegat Garden Club will present a guided walk covering up to the first mile along the Barnegat Rail Trail on Thursday, June 6 at 6:30 PM.  This is a free event and the first in a series of informational programs the Garden Club will be presenting this year.   

Leading the walk are McDuffy Barrow, naturalist for the NJ Forest Service at the Forest Resource Education Center in Jackson and the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education in Waretown, and Charlene Costaris, Agricultural Extension Agent, Chair of the Barnegat Shade Tree Commission and founder of the Barnegat Garden Club. Members of the Barnegat Garden Club will be on hand to assist.

The Barnegat Rail Trail follows an abandoned railway bed that was once the Toms River and Waretown Railroad (1870), later known as the Central Railroad of New Jersey. In addition to local flora and fauna along the way, you will also see what remains of the railroad turntable and water tower that were used by the Central
Railroad.

The walk will begin at the trail head on Burr Street and Railroad Ave and cover up to the first mile with a dropout point at the halfway mark. The trail is a firm
surface covered in light gravel with a light layer of pine needles over some
areas.

If you are planning to join the walk, wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Be sure to wear bug spray, and bring water along for the hike.  You are welcome to bring a camera. Light refreshments will be provided at the Cox House at the conclusion of the walk.

Parking is available on Burr Street at the trail head or in the Municipal parking lot near Gazebo Park.

A public trail along the abandoned Barnegat Branch Railroad was first proposed in the Master Plan adopted in 1988 by the Ocean County Board of Freeholders. In 2003, The Freeholders acquired the abandoned railway that ran from Barnegat to Beachwood, a distance of 13.6 miles.  The Barnegat to Waretown section was the first section completed. It is one of 43 existing rail trail projects in NJ and 17 Ocean County parks.

The Barnegat Garden Club is a service organization established in 1988. The club has undertaken numerous projects throughout the town including planting and maintaining the barrel planters in the downtown and the municipal complex. The club offsets the cost of the plants through donations for the Adopt a Barrel program.

The club meets on the first Thursday of each month from March through December at 7:00 p.m. at the Cox House, North Main Street, Barnegat. We are always looking for new members.

Whether you have a garden plot or garden pot you are welcome to join. If you
would like more information, please email us at barnegatgardenclub@yahoo.com.