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This was one of the most enjoyable hikes we've done in quite some time. Reading the description for hike #42 ("Cattus Island") in
50 Hikes in New Jersey (3rd edition), I wasn't
quite sure what to expect. The hike described covered only 3 miles in a park that was about 90 minutes south of us by car. But after inspecting the park's
trail map, it became obvious that there were plenty more trails to be hiked,
if we wanted. The area was so lovely and varied that we ended up hiking not only the entire hike #42 as described (which is basically the Island Loop with the addition
of a 0.6 out-and-back to the northern tip), but also the entire Hidden Beach Loop, the entire Yellowbank Trail, and large portions of the Maritime Forest Loop. Total
distance covered was just over 7 miles in just over 4 hours (there were lots of stops for photos and nature viewing).
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 Entrance sign |
 Cooper Environmental Center |
 Snake inside the center |
 Displays |
 Stuffed birds |
 Egret |
 Beautiful salt marshes |
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 Unused osprey nest platform |
 Near old boathouse site |
 Jet ski in Silver Bay |
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 Observation blind |
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 Piney path |
 Holly tree leaves |
 Mating dragonflies |
 Houses in Silverton |
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 Path to northern tip |
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 Osprey |
 View west over marsh |
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 Egret in flight |
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 Osprey in nest platform |
 Beach near Hidden Beach Loop |
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 Chipmunk |
 Boardwalk on ... |
 ... Hidden Beach Loop |
 Narrow path through reeds |
 Ferns |
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 Sea bird in flight |
 View of Silver Bay |
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 Thomas A. Mathis & J. Stanley Tunney bridges |
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 Overgrown boardwalk |
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 Egret |
 Ospreys in their nest |
 Boats near beach |
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 Seagull |
 Plane pulling lottery ad |
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 Mighty pines |
 Near old farmhouse site |
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 Observation blind |
 Osprey in nest |
 Two osprey nest platforms |
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 US Navy plane |
 Wild flowers |
 Boardwalk on Yellowbank trail |
 Observation blind |
 [Photo by Laura] |
 Another US military plane |
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 Beach west of Crossway Creek |
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 Yellowbank trail skirts the water |
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 County boat dock |
 Canadian geese at dock |
 Boardwalk growth |
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 Beautiful winding boardwalk |
 Drowned trees off Maritime Forest Loop |
 Dragonfly |
 Wild flowers ... |
 ... outside Cooper Environmental Center |
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 Bumble bee and lady bug at work |
 Echinacea |
 Dragonfly on Maritime Forest Loop |
 Marsh from boardwalk |
 Osprey ... |
 ... flying above nest |
 Two ospreys |
 Observation blind |
 Two ospreys roosting |
 Osprey landing |
 Big kid |
 Another big kid [Photo by Laura] |
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |