Monmouth County Park System

Last updated
Monmouth County Park System
Park seal.jpg
Type Public
Location Monmouth County, New Jersey
Established1960
StatusOpen year round
Website monmouthcountyparks.com

The Monmouth County Park System is an agency that maintains over 40 parks and recreational areas, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1960, the Park System takes up 5.9% of Monmouth County's total acreage. The largest park in the county is Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold with 2,388 acres. The most visited park in the county in 2021 was the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell with 1,412,586 visits. The entire Park System had a total of 8,668,914 visitors in 2021 compared to 645,354 residents of Monmouth County. [1]

Contents

List of parks

List of MCPS operated parks with 2021 visitation numbers [2]
ParkMunicipalityVisitationAcreage
Baysholm Tract* Freehold Township N/A71*
Bayshore Waterfront Park Port Monmouth 276,246229
Big Brook Park Marlboro N/A432
Clayton Park Upper Freehold 32,400450
Crosswicks Creek Park Upper Freehold N/A2,351
DeBois Creek Recreation Area* Freehold Township N/A165*
Deep Cut Gardens Middletown 195,79554
Dorbrook Recreation Area Colts Neck 735,251540
Durand Tract (Freehold Township Park) Freehold Township N/A94
East Freehold Showgrounds Freehold Township 221,61181
Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area Manasquan 139,75955
Fort Monmouth Recreation Area Tinton Falls N/A9
Freneau Woods Park Aberdeen N/A313
Hartshorne Woods Park Middletown 495,552797
Henry Hudson Trail N: Highlands to Aberdeen

S: Aberdeen to Freehold

272,347234
Holmdel Park Holmdel 1,096,379664
Huber Woods Park Middletown 114,781390
Longstreet Farm** Holmdel 102,5229
Historic Walnford Upper Freehold 12,58136
Manasquan Reservoir Howell 1,412,5861,348
Manasquan River Greenway Farmingdale N/A522
Metedeconk River Greenway* Freehold to Howell N/A542*
Monmouth Cove Marina Port Monmouth 31,48710
Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook Atlantic Highlands 187,28312
Perrineville Lake Park Millstone Township 18,9111,266
Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park Long Branch 827,31538
Shark River Park Wall Township 331,494991
Sunnyside Equestrian Area Middletown N/A135
Swimming River Park Red Bank N/A18
Tatum Park Middletown 190,963366
Thompson Park Lincroft 840,171667
Turkey Swamp Park Freehold Township 289,6732,388
Union Transportation Trail Upper Freehold 34,643115
Weltz Park Ocean Township N/A169
Wickatunk Recreation Area Marlboro N/A115
Wolf Hill Recreation Area Oceanport 496,22892
Yellow Brook Tract* Howell N/A430*
TOTAL8,355,97816,199

*Indicates the site is undeveloped

**Historic Longstreet Farm is part of Holmdel Park

Golf courses

List of MCPS operated golf courses with 2021 visitation numbers [2]
Golf CourseMunicipalityVisitationAcreage
Bel-Aire Golf Course Wall Township 57,411132
Charleston Springs Golf Course Millstone Township 79,984820
Hominy Hill Golf Course Colts Neck 45,054262
Howell Park Golf Course Howell 45,465350
Pine Brook Golf Course Manalapan 32,41661
Shark River Golf Course Neptune 52,606176

Statistics

In 2021, the Monmouth County Park System acquired 529 new acres of land, adding up to a grand total of 18,003 acres; 57% of this is forest, 25% is field, 6% is water, 3% is wetland, 9% is developed (impervious), and 3% is other. They have a total of 43 parks and golf courses. There are 148 miles of trails, 32 miles are paved, 30 miles are easy, 76 miles are moderate, and 10 miles are challenging. There are a total of 113 recreational facilities. In 2021, the Park System offered 5,178 recreational programs, with a program attendance of 93,983. The park system had six major events, with a total attendance of 119,024. The Park System had 347 full-time staff, 492 seasonal part-time staff, and 62 program staff/instructors. [2]

Finances

The Monmouth County Park System began 2021 with a balance of $112,704,820, with $12,550,185 coming from their trust, and $154,635 coming from donations. They had a total income of $45,511,756 and a total expenditure of $42,291,297, leaving them with a ending fund balance of $15,925,279. [2]

2021 Income [2]
LocationIncomePercentage
County Appropriation$22,319,97249%
Golf Courses$15,941,15735%
Visitor Services$3,061,1347%
Parks$2,779,9756%
Monmouth Cove Marina$1,400,4223%
Donations$9,096<1%
TOTAL$45,511,756100%
2021 Expenditures [2]
TypeExpenditurePercentage
Personnel$21,954,92551.91%
Operations$9,108,03221.54%
New Jersey State Sales Tax$276,725<1%
General Revenue Returned to Treasurer$10,951,61525.90%

References

  1. "Monmouth County Park System About Us About Us". www.monmouthcountyparks.com. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Monmouth County Park System 2018 Annual Report" (PDF). Monmouth County Park System.