Emerald Lake, Ceres Park Photogrphy

Is Ceres Park and Emerald Lake worth photographing?  The simple answer is yes, but there are a few things you should know first. There are two ponds. One is known as Cedar Lake and the other is Emerald Lake. Emerald lake has several vantage points that make for good photo hot spots.

These lakes are manmade and started as marl mining pits in the 1800s and are filled with unique, bright jade and emerald-colored water.

To experience the emerald color you have to visit the right time of year and when the light is angled  just rigth.

Ceres Trails To Get To Emerald Lake

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Click the map below to go to the Mantua Parks website.

The trails to Emerald Lake are easy o find and have some colored blazes for the different trails.

How To Get To Ceres Park In Mantua, NJ

Location And Entrance

The official entrance to Ceres Park is on Main Street, County Rt. 553 Alternate. That's 940 Main St, Sewell, NJ 08080 (in Mantua Township).   You can also copy and paste the official coordinates into your browser: 39°44'54.2"N 75°08'49.0"W. That's the main entrance to the parking lot.

You can also visit the extensive additional trails in Ceres Park on the other side of the creek from Emerald Lake, just past the Pitman Golf course. You can find the Ceres Park back lot at Pitman Road at: 403 Pitman Road Sewell, NJ 08080 (in Mantua Township). or  39°44'42.8"N 75°09'37.6"W.

Here's the link to map of all the hiking trails on both sides of Ceres Park on  alltrails,com.

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I was going to shoot my own video of Ceres Park, and I still may, but for now, the video below does a much better job than I would have done. It's short and sweet and is both informative and interesting. No need to pour your favorite beverage and prop your feet up-It's only 5 minutes long. You'll see Emerald Lake very early on in the video.

Dinosaurs At Ceres Park

Dryptosaurus

In 1866, the very first tyrannosauroid (an early relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex) fossil was discovered in the marl pits of Ceres Park. That's just  just a mile away from the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University.

Photo Ops At Ceres Park

Visiting Emerald Lake on a windless day gives you a chance to shoot interesting reflection photos in the various bodies of water in the park.

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Ceres Park in Mantua Township, NJ, has a rich history. It's a great place to hike and has plenty of photo ops of the heavily wooded trails, lakes, streams, and wildlife. I hope you found this guide both interesting and helpful.

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