Timber Creek Park
Timber Creek Park was purchased by Deptford Township with New Jersey Green Acres funding with the help of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. It contains 18 acres of wetlands and forested uplands. The wetlands include a thick red maple swamp that contains many wetlands species such as ferns, sweet pepperbush, bay magnolia, and skunk cabbage. The uplands contain a mature hardwoods forest with many large beech, oak, mocker nut and tulip poplar trees, mountain laurel, and a large grove of Virginia pine trees near Rt. 41.
The park has a undeveloped nature trail that winds down the slope to the tidal estuary of the Big Timber Creek. The trail offers a spectacular view of this portion of the creek. Visitors also have a chance to view the many types of waterfowl that live in the creek such as mallard and pintail ducks, Canada geese, great blue herons, great egrets, red winged blackbirds, and belted kingfishers. In the uplands, red bellied woodpeckers, Carolina chickadees, goldfinch, and titmice are common. Ospreys, red tail and marsh hawks are also occasional visitors to the area.
Deptford Township has received a grant to improve the trail system, install signage and picnic tables, and improve the parking area.
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New benches and trail signs at parking area.
New bench along trail overlooking wetlands.
The Big Timber Creek tidal wetlands from the bluff at Big Timber Creek Park.
View of Timber Creek Park from Cooper Street, Canada geese on left.
There is a stand of large Virginia pine trees near the head of the trail.
The wetlands along the base of the slope are fed by underground springs and contain plant species including red maple, bay magnolia, sweet pepperbush, arrow wood, ferns, and skunk cabbage.
The trail at the park winds through a hardwoods forest that contains Beech, Tulip Poplar, and Mocker Nut Hickory. There are many species of oak found at Timber Creek Park including Willow Oak, Southern Red Oak, Pin Oak, Chestnut Oak, and Scarlet Oak. Big Timber Creek received its name from the large trees that grew along its banks. Much of these were cut down and floated to the Philadelphia ship yard and made into ships.
Mountain Laurel grows on the slopes of Big Timber Creek Park and blooms in late May.
Big Timber Creek from bluff, spring,