Preserve Info

Curving along the northern end of New Jersey’s largest naturally formed lake, Budd Lake Bog supports a wetland habitat rare in New Jersey. The black spruce-tamarack bog vegetation community is a floating mass of plants, roots and moss all held in a sponge-like substrate, without solid ground. Formed over thousands of years after the last ice age, the bog represents a geological process of how a lake might slowly fill with decaying matter. This wetland supports some unique herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees including black spruce, tamarack, azalea, sphagnum moss, sweet pepperbush and common alder. Budd Lake is considered the headwater source for the South Branch of the Rartian River.

Public Access and Uses

The Trust, along with Mt. Olive Township and the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, manage much of the bog area surrounding portions of the lake. Access to the site is best available from Sand Shore Road. Parking is limited and no facilities are available. Visitors enjoy the unimproved trails for hiking, botanizing, and bird watching. The Trust allows registration for deer hunting at this preserve.

• Register to hunt
• View map