Wells Mills County Park — Attraction in Ocean Township

I'm generally not an advocate of hiking in the rain (or really whenever anything is falling from the sky), but this is definitely the place to do it if you're going to. The Millennial Chum and I made our Pine Barrens hiking debut here this past Saturday, which was rainy and hovering in the high 40s. Our itinerary was very straight-forward - it was an 8.5-mile hike along the white trail (my ye olde pre-Sandy NJ hiking book identifies it as the Penns Hill Trail, but the website for Wells Mills cites it as the Macri trail; regardless, it's the white one), which is basically one giant loop circling Wells Mills Lake, though it veers much further west than that at several points. Our book claimed this would take four to five hours, which we thought was a ridiculous overestimate and was - we did this in a little over three hours, though we're both in good shape and really didn't stop.

We were both enormously impressed by the facilities and trail markings here. The Nature Center at the beginning of the hike looks and is pretty spiffy, with a toasty, clean bathroom and helpful kiosks with maps to grab (handheld maps are not a given in this day and age). They DID run out of hand soap, but I think any of us would take a warm, functioning indoor plumbing situation over what we usually have to deal with. There was one time late in the hike when we stopped to peer around for the next marking, but we literally found it about five seconds later. Given that a lot of the trails overlap, turn and often cut into or across non-hiking fire trails, I thought they did a great job denoting the specific routes.

I expected the entire hike to be flat, which is my general/uninformed impression of the Pine Barrens, but it actually had a few ups and downs over dune-like, woody hills, especially in the first two miles. Nothing crazy, and while we stopped for a few water breaks at the top of those mounds, we never felt obligated to pause to catch our breaths. I'm at a point in 2023 where I'm gauging the strenuousness of an activity based on what my Fitbit says, and it claimed I had no zone moments, which is essentially high cardio activity. So take that for what you will. Regardless, I think this is also a selling point, as I've actually been reluctant to hike around here due to the lack of terrain; definitely adds some character.

The viewpoint situation was not my favorite. On a rainy day like this, you're treated to an X-files-esque view of a lake right at the beginning, complete with Vancouver-like pine trees (if you know, you know), but this is not a hike where you're going to end up looking out over anything; even the tops of the hills are in the middle of the woods, so you're just looking at the same trees you were looking at when you were at the bottom, just...higher. The other downside (depending on your perspective) is that this is probably the best kind of weather for the Pine Barrens in many ways, but it's hazardous. This hike has many boardwalks throughout the damper/swampier areas, but they get very slippery when it's rainy. I don't believe either of us legit lost our footing but we both hollered, 'Careful!' a lot. I'd recommend some tread on the hindpaws.

I suspect due mostly to the weather, the wildlife and canine chum situations were terrible. We saw a pooch in the parking lot getting ready for a walk, but never encountered one during the entire 8.5 miles (and only saw a miserable-looking boy scout troop and two other people). Hopefully others have better luck. There was also a bright pink port-a-potty about halfway through right where the trail brushes up against the scout reservation, so if nature calls and you're trying to avoid direct body contact with pine needles dot dot dot.

A lot of the hiking intangibles are here, so it's hard not to recommend this for just about anyone, regardless of skill level. It's not the kind of hike I'd do for a real workout, but to just get some fresh air and steps in? It's a nice change of pace if you're...

Nice park... terrible forest management decisions. Wells Mills is a wonderous park.. trails are decent enough & blazed sufficiently.. there is a nature center open 9-4 most days w/inside rest rooms.. outside rest rooms are seasonal.. asphalt lot.. most trails are off limits to bikes and we like that.. the lake is calm..and soothing.. the staff is friendly & engaging.. but yesterday, I was aghast that perfect living trees were cut down to block a herd path through a sensitive area of the park.. I questioned this act of mindlessness.. why cut PERFECTLY good trees to block a path when so many dead trees, a sign, or wood fence could have done just the same.. and the justification was "clear cut forest management " BALONEY! The means does NOT justify the ends.. whomever made this decision is completely off target.. how many other perfect trees will be sacrificed to block a trail? Is that 'forest management ? 6 trees is 'clear cutting'? My eye!! I posted photos of this disgrace and hope park management can apply themselves a bit harder to come up with a solution that doesn't mean cutting any more living trees unless they are deemed unsafe by a certified arborist. Utterly disgraceful. The on site staff attempted to justify this act congenially but neither of us were in a buying mood. You CAN do better. What a...

This is a great park with lovely, runnable trails. Trails are well marked and maps are always available at the entrance. I deducted one star because the deer ticks are extremely bad this summer-- I pulled at least 20 of them off me during and after my run. If you're going to use these trails, I highly recommend a hat, deep woods off, and check yourself really well before you leave and after you get home. (They're tiny, look very closely!) I personally would not bring a pet here in the summer for this reason.

The white trail is my favorite, it has 40 wooden structures (bridges, stairs) that are numbered, if you run it clockwise you'll hit #40 first and count down to #1 at the end of your loop. It's fun, but they do get icy in the winter so expect to take them slowly in that case.

There are porta potties at the parking lot with a water fountain. The permanent restrooms have been locked all year....