Mannington Meadows

AMC Outdoors, March 2005

Neither a lake nor a bay, Mannington Meadows’ vast expanse of brackish waters can fill days of paddling enjoyment for the nature lover. Situated “Down Jersey,” as the locals call this region, and close to the Delaware River, these waters are slightly tidal.

However, a network of narrow channels at the mouth of the Salem River snakes its way around tiny islands and buffers most of the tidal current effect. You may notice a slightly higher or lower waterline along the shores as the day wears on, but not much change in paddling effort. With more than 3,000 acres in this low-lying coastal plain, you’ll probably just need to push yourself off a sandbar or two when the tide is out, particularly in the narrower side channels.

Deeper waters lie along the eastern shoreline, where the Salem River has cut a deep channel. The 2,000-acre Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge adjoins Mannington Meadows along its southwestern flank. The refuge provides wintering and migrating waterfowl with an important feeding and resting area.

During late winter, the refuge grassland trail is a good place to view large groups of Eastern meadowlarks and savannah sparrows. Egrets, herons, shorebirds, pintails, black ducks, cormorants, woodcocks, songbirds, and a plethora of other bird species are common visitors to Mannington Meadows. Birds of prey that nest in the Supawna refuge often come here to hunt.

The frogs, turtles, and muskrats they seek are abundant along the shallower eastern shores, where they live among wide fields of waterlilies and marsh grasses. Look for the diamondback terrapin, one of the few turtles that inhabit such brackish waters. Bald eagles have made a dramatic comeback in southern New Jersey, and a new nest appeared in Mannington Meadows last year. Two eaglets hatched in mid-March 2004 and left the nest in June. Lucky paddlers may spot them. Find the launch along a channel in the northwestern end of the meadows. Paddle right to enter the meadows proper, or paddle left for a foray into the channels.

While the words “brackish marsh” may not stir your wanderlust, Mannington Meadows makes for fine early spring paddle explorations in an area teeming with wildlife.

—Kathy Kenley is author of AMC’s Quiet Water New Jersey: Canoe and Kayak Guide, which highlights 50 paddling trips in the Garden State.

DIRECTIONS

From I-295 or the New Jersey Turnpike, follow signs for the Pennsville/Salem exit. Drive 0.3 mile and turn left, following signs for Hook Road/40 East. In 0.5 miles, the road will bend right into Hook Road. Drive 1.2 miles, turn left onto East Pittsfield, and continue for 0.8 mile to the launch.

RESOURCES

AMC’s Quiet Water New Jersey is available at www.outdoors.org or by calling 800-262-HILL. The New Jersey Atlas & Gazetteer Maps 60 and 61 show the Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in detail.

For more information, call 609-935-1487or see www.visitsouthjersey.com/outdoors_wild.asp.

LOCAL WISDOM 

While Mannington Meadows appears not to be directly affected by the November oil spill in the Delaware River, New Jersey Audubon members have volunteered as “expert avian monitors.” For more on the spill, see www.njaudubon.org/ Conservation/Oilspill.html.