A Mansion, Historic Buildings And Trails (Including One That Floats Over A Lake)

A lot of effort was put into developing this county park

There is a lot to see at Historic Smithville Park in Burlington County New Jersey. But the most unique thing they did was, instead of just maintaining trails around Smithville Lake, they built what they call a floating bridge over it. The closest thing to walking on water you’ll ever do.

It affords you closeups of the lake’s ecosystem that you could never explore from the shore.

The bridge is anchored on both sides by a trail that is level and easy to negotiate. However there are some areas beyond the floating bridge that require walking on stairs to continue. But the trail from the main parking lot to and across the bridge is handicap accessible.

As you can see, I picked the perfect fall day to enjoy the trail, which, while not solitary, certainly wasn’t crowded.

It wasn’t the season for it but apparently canoeing is popular on Smithville Lake.

A tributary leading to the lake.

Historic Smithville Park is perhaps best known for its preserved old buildings. Some of which, like this one, are restored and functional. Others, not so much. This building is being used as the administration offices for the county parks system..

This one, known as the mansion, is all decked out for the holidays. I saw a number of photographers using the park as the backdrop for family Christmas photos. Among the other buildings worth exploring are a gallery, a visitor’s center and an underground railroad museum.

One of the most interesting buildings is this abandoned factory.

All photos copyright Gary Baumgarten

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