Weltz Conservation Area


650 West Park Avenue, Oakhurst, NJ 07755
732-229-7025 - Ranger Station (at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park)   
Park Map | Tick Advisory 
Park opens at 7 a.m. daily, year round.      
Closing time is 5:30 p.m. through January 16; 6 p.m. January 17-February 13; and 6:30 p.m. February 14-March 11.

  

Scenic view at Weltz Park

By the 1970s, the Weltz Farm in Ocean Township was one of the last remaining large tracts of undeveloped land east of Route 35 in southern Monmouth County. The Weltzes sold the land, known as Sweetbriar Farm, to the NJ Conservation Foundation at below market value so it could be preserved until the Park System was able to fund its acquisition.

The conservation area has a diverse assemblage of habitat types supporting over 130 species of birds. The 44 acres of intermediate upland forest are typical of the Pine Barrens with white, black, red and chestnut oaks as well as pitch pines. The 52 acres of wet lowland help to preserve the water quality of Whale Pond Brook, containing forests populated with red maple, gray birch, sweet gum, and Atlantic white cedar. The 57 acres of sandy and dry fields are unique to this inland park and provide habitat for coastal dune species including prickly pear cactus, woolly beach heather, bayberry, pink lady’s slipper orchids, and diverse lichen species. Rows of highbush blueberries under the younger woodland canopy illustrate the adaptation of a blueberry field to a forest.

Trails through the woods and fields provide for passive recreation with opportunity to appreciate the abundant wildlife; warblers, brown thrashers, owl species, butterflies, box turtles, and other sensitive species nest and migrate through the site. Cooperative research partnerships with Monmouth University and Rutgers University continue to inform the Monmouth County Park System of the sensitivity of the Weltz Conservation Area ecosystem and its inhabitants.

field at Weltz Park

In accordance with New Jersey’s recently amended Smoke Free Air Act, all Monmouth County parks are now tobacco free. The new ban applies to cigarettes, pipes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and vaporize cigarettes, as well as smokeless tobacco such as snuff and chew.

 

Directions

  • State Hwy. 35 to West Park Ave. Southbound, use jughandle to turn left; northbound, turn right. Follow West Park Ave. to Park entrance on left.
  • Garden State Parkway North or South - Exit 105, Highway 36 East. 36 East to Highway 35 South. Follow southbound as above.