South Jersey’s Top Five Places To Walk Your Dog…Number Five

Where are the best places in our part of South Jersey to walk your dog?  Every dog owner has looked for  new and different spots to get your doggy, and yourself, some exercise.  The daily walk around the neighborhood gets boring for both of you after awhile, and when you have the chance to explore something new, it's handy to have some ideas of where to go. But if you do an internet search for "good places for dog walk in New Jersey", you'll get pages of information and ideas for wonderful spots to walk 'ol Rover, and almost...all of it will be for central and northern New Jersey.

As the owner of a ten-month old puppy (or,  is she really the one in charge?), I've wondered about this myself. It seemed like a good idea to try to compile five excellent places in Atlantic and Cape May Counties,  well within driving distance,  for you to try out when the opportunity presents itself.

This is not to say these are the only great places locally to walk your dog.  You may know of one in your town that's not included.  If so, feel free to list it in the comments section below, along with any observations or experiences you've had walking your dog at any of my top five places.

Most, but not all, of the spots on the list require on-leash walking and some are only available seasonally.  Most are free, but some charge and insist on pet registration.  I'll try to make that clear with each of the five listings.   Every place on the list has particular rules and regulations concerning walking your dog, and you should make yourself familiar with them before using any of the places for doggy exercise!

So, here they are...."Eddie's Top Five Places to walk your dog in South Jersey".....

Number Five: Estell Manor Park, Rt. 50, 3.5 miles  south of Mays Landing (Free)

Estell Manor Park is the crown jewel of the Atlantic County Park system and the Division of Parks and Recreations headquarters.  The park is 1700 acres of land along  the Great Egg Harbor River once frequented by the local Native Americans and then the site of a glass-works in the 1800's.  The land is mostly forest and is home to an incredible diversity of plants and animals.

The park has designated about 20 miles of trails, through all types of habitats.  As the park's web site says, " The trails are not too sandy, are on flat terrain , and are sometimes pretty wet (beavers and wetlands)".  In other words, wear some water-proof boots!

I would suggest a camera, too. Some sightings might include bald eagles, otters, red foxes, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and more. That's good stuff!

Of course, Atlantic and Cape May Counties offer lots of other parks, many  of which are also  fantastic pl;aces  for a good dog walk!

Leave your comments about Estell Manor Park below and check back tomorrow for my number four spot.