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Trail Guides
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Schuyler Avenue at Gunnell Oval Park, Kearny, NJ 07032
Phone: (201) 460-1700
www.njmeadowlands.gov
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
Leave via Valley Brook Avenue. After 1.9 miles turn Left onto Orient Way at first traffic light. Follow to end, turn Left at stop sign onto Page Avenue. Follow road around to the Right; Page Avenue becomes Schuyler Avenue. After 2.8 miles turn Left at Gunnell Oval sign immediately before the 10th traffic light (this includes fire station and non-working lights). Follow drive past parking lots on Right. Park in the second small parking lot at the back of the park. Look Left for a clearing that leads to the marsh. Map
Open daily dawn to dusk. Parking available at site. New Jersey Fishing license required to fish site.
NJ Transit Bus Line Nos. 39 Chancellor Ave/Kearny Avenue and 76 Hackensack stop at Kearny Avenue and Midland Avenue. Cross Kearny Avenue and walk east on Midland Avenue to Schuyler Avenue. Turn Right on Schuyler. Gunnell Oval should be across the street on the Left after about 3 blocks. Walking distance less than 1 mile
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| Green-winged Teal | Kevin Karlson |
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| |  The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission acquired the Kearny Marsh in 1999 and will implement habitat management plans for the area over the next several years. The Kearny Marsh is approximately 400 acres of significant wetlands, bounded on all sides by the New Jersey Turnpike, Belleville Pike and an abandoned rail line. The restriction of tidal flow over the years has changed the ecosystem to a freshwater impoundment; a result of rainfall and runoff from the town of Kearny. As such, the marsh has evolved into a productive waterbird habitat. The water depth over much of the marsh is approximately 2 1/2 - 3 feet except for traverse channels that can be as deep as five or six feet. The dominant plant species is common reed except where the area has flooded. Mulberry, hibiscus, purple loosestrife, jewelweed and cattail can be seen in a few places.
To look into the Kearny Marsh, enter the Gunnell Oval Ball Park off of Schuyler Avenue. Drive to the back of the ballfield. There is a clearing among the brush to the left that affords a view of the Marsh. You can walk along abandoned railroad tracks as far down as Doctors Creek. You can also observe the marsh by canoe or kayak (non-motorized boats only), by launching near the back left of the parking area, over the tracks and into the impoundment, although there is no marked trail at this site. “Catch and Release” fishing is accessible along the abandoned railroad that is adjacent to the Gunnel Oval ball fields anywhere you find a clearing along the path that follows the tracks.
The marsh supports many freshwater wetland bird species. Some species of importance include: Least and American Bitterns, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, Marsh Wren, American Coot, and Common Moorhen. Waterfowl during migration could include Gadwall, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Greater and Lesser Scaups along with American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, and Canvasback. Forming an important part of the food chain and found all over the marsh is duckweed, a primary food source for muskrats and other species. Muskrats take full advantage of this habitat. Their dome-shaped lodges can be seen dispersed amongst common reed throughout the marsh. Several species of snail and aquatic insects have been seen, as well as eel and large carp. During the warmer months look for snapping, spotted and painted turtles basking in the sun.
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