Deacon Road & CR 541 Bypass, Hainesport, NJ
Phone: (609) 265-5858
www.co.burlington.nj.us/Pages/pages.aspx?cid=589
Burlington County Park System
From Dartmoor Drive, turn Right on Waverly Road, and then Right on Municipal Drive. After 1.0 mile turn Right at the light onto Route 541, Main Street. After 0.7 miles turn Left at the light onto Mount Holly Bypass/Bobby’s Run Boulevard. After 1.2 miles turn Left on Route 537, Marne Highway. Take the first Right on Deacon Road and proceed 0.6 miles to the parking area for Long Bridge Park. DIRECTIONS FROM NEAREST HIGHWAY: From I-295, take exit 45A toward/Mount Holly to go East on Route 626/Rancocas Road. After 2.5 miles, turn Right at the traffic light onto the Route 541 By-pass. After 0.6 miles turn Right into the park entrance, marked with a brown sign. A second entrance can be found by turning Right at the next traffic light onto Route 537, and making a quick Right onto Deacon Road. Map
New Jersey Transit Bus Lines No. 413 Camden/Mt. Holly/Burlington and No. 317 Asbury Park/Fort Dix/Philadelphia stop at Marne Highway and Maple Avenue. Walk 1 block on CR-541. Turn Left on Marne Highway. Walk 1 block on Marne Highway. Walking distance is less than 1 mile.
A small pond is tucked away on the red trail, only viewable from the vicinity of a picnic table on the north side of the pond. It is a good place to look for dragonflies mid through late summer.
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| Killdeer | Tony Geiger |
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Nestled on a bend in Rancocas Creek, this welcoming natural area has plentiful parking and four wide, easy, well-marked trails that wind through a variety of habitat. Trail maps are available at the parking area.
In early summer, look along the blue trail, which skirts the marsh, for snapping turtles and other turtle nests. They are, unfortunately, more easily found if they have been dug up by raccoons after which they look like small holes surrounded by the empty, curled up egg shells.
Common Merganser, Mallard, Wood Duck, and Canada Goose may be found in the marshes and creeks. Scan areas where woodlands meet fields for Hermit Thrush, American Robin, and the occasional White-crowned or Fox Sparrow mixing with the Juncos and White-throated Sparrows. Wild Turkey, Belted Kingfisher, and Brown Creeper can be spotted in winter as well.
Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal and other waterfowl pass through the marshes in March and April. Migration of neotropical bird species peaks in May. Listen for the distinctive paired-note song of the Indigo Bunting in fields and along edges, and keep an eye out for its look-alike, the less common Blue Grosbeak. Yellow Warbler, Pine warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Red-eyed Vireo, and other breeding species arrive. Wood ducks arrive and nest in hollow trees along the creek. Spring peepers begin calling, and you may be lucky enough to spot a spadefoot toad with the first warm rains of spring. Shad run in the Rancocas Creek from Late March through May.
Look for dragonflies over the fields, pond, and marshes, including blue dasher, twelve-spotted skimmer, slaty skimmer, common whitetail, and black saddlebags. Butterflies are also abundant, with beauties such as red-spotted purple, question mark, common wood nymph, American copper, and red-banded hairstreak making regular appearances. Several common fern species and club mosses can be seen along the orange trail. Wild rice ripens in the marshes in late summer. Fishing points along the yellow trail allow opportunities to catch largemouth bass, striped bass, yellow perch, crappie, channel catfish, and American eel.
In mid-late September, the Red-winged Blackbirds arrive en masse and gorge on the wild rice, seen from the yellow trail adjacent to the Rancocas Creek. Fall migration brings a large variety of birds through, including Canada, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped, and Black and White Warbler. Look for Yellow-throated Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Field Sparrow, and Brown Thrasher as well, and the accipiters that hunt them. Autumn color peaks in late October.
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