A Walk Around Treasure Lake

I took a walk around the neighborhood today and snapped some photos of Treasure Lake, the seawall that separates the lake from the Raritan Bay, and the entrance to Keyport harbor as viewed from Cliffwood Beach.

You will notice in the pictures below that the lake is frozen over. About a week ago, one of our neighbors was out on the ice with ice skates and a snow shovel plowing a path so people could skate. The weather's been a bit warmer in recent days, so I doubt the ice is thick enough for skating anymore. But there's plenty more cold weather ahead.

There's a snow-covered service road that connects Greenwood Avenue with the seawall area. Vehicle traffic is limited to township trucks courtesy of a locked barrier, but people park their vehicles nearby and walk around the barrier to go fishing or walk their dogs. Some folks drive ATVs through the area, but these vehicles ruin the dunes and seagrass and are a hazard to pedestrian traffic.

Once you get near the seawall, you have a choice of walking the rocky seawall itself or following a paved walkway behind the seawall that shields you from the sea breezes. The views are different, depending on which path you choose.


From the seawall you get a nice view of Staten Island directly across the Raritan Bay. Manhattan's towers can be seen over Staten Island about twenty miles to the north. To the west you see the Route 35 and Garden State Parkway bridges across the Raritan River at Perth Amboy. To the east on the Jersey side of the bay you see the entrance to Keyport harbor, as well as Union Beach and Keansburg. Across the water to the northeast you can see the Verrazano Narrows bridge leading to Brooklyn.

The leeward walkway gives you views of the lake and surrounding shrubs and reeds, eventually rising to the same height as the seawall as it nears Marshall Concourse and Seawood. Some dog owners park their vehicles at that end of the path to begin their walks along the bayside.

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