South Jersey Checkpoint Challenge
Checkpoint Rhododendron
Welcome to City Park in Bridgeton, NJ. This cache will fulfill the “Rhododendron” requirement for the South Jersey Checkpoint Challenge.
Recreational opportunities at Bridgeton City Park include fishing, biking, swimming, boating, hiking, birding and geocaching! Local history is found within the Nail Mill Museum and the New Sweden Farmstead which features reproduced 17th century buildings that were typical of early Swedish settlements. The park is also the home of the Cohanzick Zoo, New Jersey’s first zoo, and has been in operation since 1934. There is no admission to visit the zoo.
The Park consists of over 1,100 acres including Sunset Lake, Mary Elmer Lake, and miles of trails through a beautiful mixed and hardwood forest. Wildlife is abundant and birders have spotted Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk and Belted Kingfisher. There are pavilions and picnic spots scattered throughout the park. Additionally, there is a Fitness trail, ball fields, a playground, and tennis courts available.
Rhododendron is derived from the Greek words for “rose” and “tree.” It is a genus of flowering plants with over 1,000 species. The large shrubs are known for their immense flower displays in shades of white, salmon, pink, red, crimson, violet, lavender and most commonly, purple. The vast majority of rhododendrons in our area bloom from April through August with May and June being peak months.
There is a delightful display of rhododendrons in the park along Mayor Aitken Drive which is why we chose this letter for the SJCC. The parking coordinates are for the zoo and you will see a wide trailhead across the street. Please do not park along the Drive or attempt to bushwhack to the cache. It is only a three minute walk if you take the suggested trail. The cache is a small Lock & Lock hidden in a rhododendron! It is 100 feet off the main trail but there is no bushwhacking to the cache.
Official SJCC Information
The South Jersey Geocachers (SJG) are sponsoring the South Jersey Checkpoint Challenge series. This challenge is intended to take geocachers on a tour of Southern New Jersey (loosely defined as south of I-195) while finding caches placed by members of the SJG. On the tour, we hope you will find South Jersey an interesting and beautiful part of our great state.