Pennington Park

Location: Delanco

Website: http://www.co.burlington.nj.us/pages/pages.aspx?cid=590

Bathrooms: Yes

Eating area: YES with pavilions (rentable for parties)

Open: 7am to Dusk

Attractions: Hiking/Biking Trails, playground, Wildlife observation piers, community gardens, dog parks

 Fee: FREE

The kids and I visited Pennington Park after hearing so many good things about it.  It is a pretty large park...140 acres big!  The kids had a lot of fun at its cool playground! There are your typical playground equipment but the giant climbing tower, the farm hide out, and the large animal sculptures were some of their favorites!

A view of one area of the playground

The Turtle was just one of the large animal sculptures.

There are benches to sit on and a large expanse of grass to bring a ball or a blanket.  There are also several covered pavilions and bathrooms nearby for snack and lunch breaks.  Check the website for information on renting the pavilions for speical events.

My only complaint about the playground is that it is right out in the sun. There is very little to no shade. Trees have been planted but they are not mature yet to provide shade.  So,  I would avoid this park on hot days.

In addition to a fun playground, there are several trails for walking, running, and biking that lead to wildlife observation piers. The kids loved running over the bridge to check out the wildlife and views of the Rancocas Creek. Again most of the trails, except the boardwalk areas, are out in the open with little shade, so make sure to bring hats, suntan lotion, and lots of water when out in the heat.

Trail to the overlook with views of Rancocas Creek



 I think you could definetly spend a morning at Pennington Park.  The kids could play forever at the playground, bring bikes and you could ride the trails, and walk to the observation areas for views of nature. Have a snack or lunch at one of the many covered pavilions and you could definetly look at spending several areas here.  Its a playground and nature preserve all rolled into one. Also, don't forget that there is also a fun dog park for fido, too!  We will definetly be visiting this park again soon!

Here are more pictures of the park:

Have fun at the park!

Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area

Location: Creek Rd. in Moorestown, NJ

Bathrooms: Yes

Eating area: Yes

Attractions: Hiking trails and boardwalks, viewing plaforms, butterly and hummingibird garden

Hours: open 7am to dusk

Fee: FREE

On a recent snooze cruise, I discovered Boundary Creek Park. It is literally maybe a ten minute drive from my house, so I still can't believe I hadn't seen or heard of this amazing park before.  I was looking for a place to take the kids for a morning walk since they had gotten up so early and wanted to play outside.  Not wanting to upset the neighbors with their early morning screaming, I packed up the kids, their bikes, and Grandmom, and headed to Boundary Creek.  

The kids riding their bikes on the trails

We arrived around 8:30 am to the sounds of birds and just a handful of other walkers. It was a beautiful morning and we parked immediately at the welcome pavilion where you can pick up a trail guide and use the restrooms.  There was no changing table, but the restrooms were very clean!!  This is also the general location for a picnic, however there are other locations along the trail that you could also decide to rest and eat.  I think eating along  the platform overlooking the Rancocas Creek would be fabulous!


Overlook shaded pavilion with pond



Anyways, just a short distance from the parking area, are the trails.  The Trails is set up like a double circle, one that goes to the right and one that goes to the left.  We started on the right, and found lots of lush and colorful vegetation, tons of birds singing, and numerous colorful insects.   The fields are full of milkweed plants, so look closely under the leaves and you could be looking for Monarch Butterfly caterpillars, chrysalis, and butterflies soon. Also, on the right hand side is the pavilion overlooking the pond filled with fish and frogs.  This would also be a great place for a snack! It is covered too, so it would protect from the sun.  Speaking of the sun, the trails do take you into some shaded forest areas, but also into lots of field areas so bring a water bottle, sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats to for protection.

One of several boardwalk trails and viewing areas

If you take the trail to the left you will be lead to the Rancocas Creek observation platform which is beautiful.  It was so quiet, with wildlife everywhere.  They even provide non coin operated binoculars so you can see the creek wildlife up close.

Just some of the beautiful scenery

 

Beautiful coneflowers that were attracting butterflies

Boundary Creek is a beautiful nature preserve that is not big and not overwhelming but a perfect place to   take a leisurely morning/evening walk, let the kids get "one with nature", and just take it all in.  We will definetly be coming back for more strolls!