Cox Hall Wildlife Management Area

Today Noelle, Sierra, Mom, Dad and I headed over to the Cox Hall Wildlife Management Area to check things out. The area is the location of the former Ponderlodge Golf Course,

which my Dad has fond memories of playing back in the day. The course closed about 10 years ago when the owner failed to pay his taxes on the property. The state of New Jersey turned the land into a wildlife preserve by planting the sterile fairways with native grasses, trees, and forbs.

After parking the car we set out on a paved path that looked to me like an old golf cart path.

We saw some turtles in a small pond,

an interesting butterfly,

and even Sierra's favorite: a frog. There is a large pond nearby where the clubhouse once stood. In the middle of the pond is an island on which sits a gazebo.

There had once been a bridge leading to the island, but due to vandalism the state tore it down some years ago. We walked all the way around the pond and headed back to the car on a different path through oaks and pitch pines.