East Highland and South Seaview Avenues, Galloway, NJ
Phone: (609) 625-8219
www.aclink.org/PARKS/mainpages/parks.asp
Atlantic County Park Service
From the parking area, turn Left onto Faunce Landing Road. Make the first Right onto East Lisbon Avenue and then turn Right again onto Route 9 North/Shore Road. After 1.5 miles, turn Left onto Jimmie Leeds Road. After 1.0 miles, turn Right on South Seaview Avenue. Park along the road at the corner of East Highland Avenue, where an unmarked trail leads into the Galloway Tract. DIRECTIONS FROM NEAREST HIGHWAY: From the intersection of Route 9 and Route 30 in Absecon, continue North on Route 9/New Road. After 2.4 miles, turn Left on Jimmie Leeds Road. After 1 mile, turn Right on South Seaview Avenue. Park along the road at the corner of East Highland Avenue, where an unmarked trail leads into the Galloway Tract. Map
NJ Transit Bus 508 from Atlantic City to Richard Stockton College passes by the Galloway Tract on Jimmie Leeds Road within walking distance.
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| Woodland Blewit | Tony Geiger |
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| | Encompassing over 371 acres, the Galloway Tract is one of the more wild and untouched forested areas in the Atlantic County Park system. The site boasts a high canopy of conifers and hardwood species of trees indigenous to the Pine Barrens such as pitch pine, short-leaf pine, red and white oaks, swamp maple and hickory. The understory consists of mountain laurel, swamp azalea, holly, viburnum and sweet pepper bush, while the forest floor is healthy with mosses, lichens and a variety of mushrooms along with ferns native to the region. The lushness and serenity of the forest makes it easy to forget that Atlantic City is less than 10 miles away.
Visit in May or June for a dazzling show of wildflowers in the understory, a wide variety of migrant and nesting songbirds and amphibian activity.
Conspicuous wintering songbirds include Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse. Patience may turn up Fox Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Cedar Waxwing, Hermit Thrush, Carolina Wren, or even Winter Wren. The site is good for winter tracking of large and small mammals such as white-tailed deer and cottontail rabbit. Listen for Great-horned Owl at dusk.
Migrant songbirds include Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, Northern Parula, American Redstart, Pine, Cerulean and Blackpoll Warblers to name a few. Amphibians become active in mid March look for spring peeper, Fowler’s toad, gray treefrog and red-backed salamander. The variety of wildflowers, ferns and other plant species that bloom at this time of the year make this an excellent stop for the amateur botanist.
The summer brings a climax to plant and animal abundance. Understory shrubs and wildflowers such as pink lady’s slipper are blooming. Breeding birds include Wood Thrush, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Towhee, Ovenbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Pine Warbler and Brown Thrasher. Keep an eye out for box turtle, black rat snake, rough green snake, garter snake, fence lizard, five-lined skink and ground skink. Insect repellent recommended.
Various species of mushrooms sprout from the forest floor. Migrant songbirds pass through once more. Gray squirrels and chipmunks rustle noisily on the forest floor. Raptors such as Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks stop in the woods. At dusk, bats fatten up on insects to prepare for hibernation.
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