Brunswick Acres Park

Oakey Drive, North Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey

Directions:

From Route 1 in North Brunswick Township turn right onto Finnegan's Lane; drive 0.7 of a mile and turn left onto Korey Drive; turn Left onto Oakey Drive; and drive 0.1 of a mile and park around house #50.  The park is on the left. 

Trails:

04/04/2005.  Ceferino Santana, dog Sonar and I  explored the area.  A wet walking Monday as the weekend gave us flooding rains.  We explored the area at the end of Kenneth Avenue.  We could see the elementary school across the area.  The main park is adjacent to the Brunswick Acres Elementary School.  On both sides of Oakley Brook that goes through the park, there is a long, linear lawn.  There is a bridge over the brook that connects the school to the large playground for children.  We walked through the children's playground area  where there are a lot of sweetgum trees.  Then we walked parallel to the brook on the shore opposite the elementary school.  In about 150 yards we were blocked by private property around dead-end Casey Drive.  About 3/4s of the way down this side of the brook, we saw a clear, straight opening that went all the way through the woods to highway.  This area could certainly be used as a trail  The trail was next to a small stream dumping into the brook.  We did not even try to walk the trail as the ground was soaked and the trail somewhat swamped with water.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant blooming on 4/04/2005

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple) *
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)  -- lots
Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum) lots
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Salix alba var. (weeping willow)

Shrubs:
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) lots

Vines:
Smilax sp. (greenbrier))  --  lots
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Barbarea vulgaris (common wintercress)
Erythronium americanum (trout lily)
Goodyera pubescens (downy rattlesnake plantain)
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered sedge type)

Ferns and fern-allies:
Lycopodium obscurum (ground pine clubmoss)