The Secret Boardwalk of Carnivorous Plants

Lions, Tigers, Bears, and Dwarf Forests in the Pines

I don’t have the best sense of direction. And in the Pines, even with a handheld GPS, a car GPS, and two phones on different networks, it’s still possible to get lost, or not find something that’s in plain sight. It’s nothing supernatural. The Pinelands are often homogenous, and fires, controlled or otherwise, wipe out familiar areas and they grow anew in a cycle of rebirth that erases the landscape, and any hope of comparing photographs over the years.

Thankfully, the Nature Boardwalk of Webbs Mills has not been taken by fire, and is in fine shape, if you can find it. It’s right off Route 539 in Lacey Township, also home one of the famous Dwarf Pine Forests and the Popcorn Animal Wildlife Refuge. I visited all three in one day, taking the sandy Webb Mills Road between them, which was no trouble for the Subaru Outback. The paved roads take about the same time, since you can drive highway speeds, but where’s the fun in that?

The first weekend looking for the boardwalk was a bust; I also couldn’t find a safe way up Forked River Mountain that day. But I did find a road into a dwarf pine forest. These stunted pines only grow five to six feet tall, and no one is sure why. Scientists think it’s a combination of a history of wildfires, high winds, and barren sandy soil that makes these pine stands never bother trying to grow big and tall like others less than a mile away. They make for an eerie landscape:

That’s also right off Route 539, south of Log Road. It’s a little bumpy, but any car should be able to carefully traverse it. To get to the Nature Boardwalk, it’s on Google Maps! But unless you know where to park and where to look, you can walk right by the entrance. William Lewis, author of Adventure with Piney Joe, a fun introduction to the Pinelands for kids and adults, you park directly across the road from the Greenwood Wildlife Management sign. My hint: Walk south. The map makes it look like the boardwalk hugs the water, unless you use the satellite view and zoom in. It’s quite a ways south of the branch.

Once you find it, lather up with tick repellent, as the trail is snug, and there are plenty of insects in the swamp to feed the hungry plants. It’s a minute or so walk from the road when you reach the sturdy boardwalk with its beautiful views, and there’s a plastic chair if you want to sit and enjoy the peace of an Atlantic white cedar and pine bog. And nearly at your feet are spreads of red-veined pitcher plants and yellow thorned bladderwort, devouring insects and microscopic water organisms:

The yellow flowers are the bladderworts, which have underwater bladders, or swells in their root systems, that suck in water and any tiny critters living in it, which are then digested. Pitcher plants have a sweet nectar in their bowls, like blues singer Bessie Smith, but instead of luring men, they lure insects which drown and are then digested. There are also sundews here, but I couldn’t see any; I’ve seen them at Black Run Preserve. They have sticky flowers that trap insects, similar to a Venus flytrap without the spring. They rely on the sap to catch their prey.

If botany isn’t your thing and you prefer charismatic megafauna, the Pine Barrens is home to the Popcorn Animal Wildlife Refuge, a rescue center which houses injured wildlife and rescued pets who can’t return to the wild. Unlike the Tiger King, this isn’t a vanity project, and they have critters as mundane as whitetail deer and albino squirrels, as well as a plump bobcat, white and Bengal tigers, numerous goats, a black bear, elusive foxes, and a giant tortoise who healed from a hole in his shell.

For ten bucks you get a box of popcorn to feed the critters, including a demanding miniature pony named Jeff who will bang his bucket for food. A mom was letting her kid drop a single piece of popcorn down Jeff’s feed chute at a time, and then make him walk to another bucket for another… so when they walked away, I dumped half my popcorn into Jeff’s bucket. He looked happy, and ignored the kid after that.

I still had time to drive Mount Misery Road and to visit the Brooksbrae Terracotta factory ruins, but that deserves its own post. What I enjoy most about the Pines is softroading, the term for light off-road driving, as opposed to overlanding and rock climbing and mudding, for which you need a dedicated off-road vehicle. I like getting 35mpg on the highway, so no Jeep for me. The sandy back roads of the Pine Barrens are a blast to drive in the Outback, barreling down them like a rally car—when you have the visibility, and there are no cross trails for dirt bikes to come flying in front of you. So I’ll leave you with this dash cam video of me having fun on Webb’s Mill Road:

Coming next in The Pine Bairn:

The Devouring Horror at the Brooksbrae Brick Factory

Cactus on the Runway at the Abandoned Aero-Haven Airport