Pines Lake, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Pines Lake is a lake community in Wayne
, in Passaic County
, New Jersey
, United States. Pines Lake was started as a vacation community around a man-made lake approximately 1.5 miles long and a half mile wide in the 1920s. Many of the original homes were modified log cabins. A large number of these log cabins, built of American chestnut in the 1930s, are still occupied as year-round homes. Gradually the neighborhood became approximately 500 high end to moderate suburban homes. It has a grammar school, Pines Lake School and its residents can send their high school aged children to Wayne Hills High School
.
An interesting feature of the lake is the one lane road that passes over the dam, giving a view down into "the Glen", a steep sided ravine which is maintained as a park. There are rare tiger salamander
s and native ferns. Marine fossils have occasionally been found in the Glen and on properties surrounding the lake. An undeveloped area near the southern end of the lake has long been believed to contain an Indian burial ground.
The Lenni-Lenape lived in the area of Pines Lake prior to European settlement. Stone mounds and other signs of the Lenni-Lenape are visible in the forests and the undeveloped areas around Pines Like.
Despite its name, there are very few natural pine trees around Pines Lake. The area is mostly forested in black oak, white oak
, and red oak along with flowering dogwoods and American beech
. There are groves of mature Eastern hemlocks
that may have been mistaken for pine trees. The Glen is forested with mature oaks, hemlocks, and beech, including American sycamore
s along the stream banks.
Pines Lake has several community beaches on the lake and an active community life, centered around swimming, tennis, and sail boating. One such beach is the Sunny Ridge Beach, at the foot of Sunny Ridge Road, which serves residents in the immediate vicinity. The lake is stocked with large-mouth bass, sunfish
, and Northern pike
. The lake supports flocks of mallards, coots
, swans
and other ducks, herons, and waterfowl. On the weekend nearest July 4 each year a community celebration is held, including the "Baby" Parade—a costume parade for children walking, or on decorated bicycles, and on home made floats—culminating in a beach-side picnic and the crowning of Miss Pines Lake. Children living in Pines Lake are eligible to participate in the summer program, several weeks of supervised play and learning activities sponsored by the Pines Lake Association. Another large community event is the annual Lobster Bash sponsored by the Sailing Club which is always sold out. These and other events are held at the South Beach Pavilion, built in the 1980s. Pines Lake also has a very vibrant local sports community, the local Pines Lake swimming team has a large following and so do the Pines Lake Bighorns, a traveling basketball team from the area.
The Pines Lake community is also the location of Laurelwood Arboretum http://www.laurelwoodarboretum.org, a 30-acre botanically diverse property. Laurelwood features woodland trails and gardens, wildlife, two ponds, streams and hundreds of varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and other unusual species of plants and trees. Gravel paths wind and connect through the Arboretum, making it an ideal destination for hikers, runners, birdwatchers, plant enthusiasts and photographers. Once a commercial nursery, Laurelwood Arboretum is now maintained as a public park through a partnership between the Township of Wayne and the non-profit organization Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum, Inc (FOLA).
Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....
, in Passaic County
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States. Pines Lake was started as a vacation community around a man-made lake approximately 1.5 miles long and a half mile wide in the 1920s. Many of the original homes were modified log cabins. A large number of these log cabins, built of American chestnut in the 1930s, are still occupied as year-round homes. Gradually the neighborhood became approximately 500 high end to moderate suburban homes. It has a grammar school, Pines Lake School and its residents can send their high school aged children to Wayne Hills High School
Wayne Hills High School
Wayne Hills High School is a comprehensive community public high school, in Wayne, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of the two high schools that are part of the Wayne Public Schools...
.
An interesting feature of the lake is the one lane road that passes over the dam, giving a view down into "the Glen", a steep sided ravine which is maintained as a park. There are rare tiger salamander
Tiger Salamander
The Tiger Salamander is a species of Mole Salamander. The proper common name is the Eastern Tiger Salamander, to differentiate from other closely related species.-Description:...
s and native ferns. Marine fossils have occasionally been found in the Glen and on properties surrounding the lake. An undeveloped area near the southern end of the lake has long been believed to contain an Indian burial ground.
The Lenni-Lenape lived in the area of Pines Lake prior to European settlement. Stone mounds and other signs of the Lenni-Lenape are visible in the forests and the undeveloped areas around Pines Like.
Despite its name, there are very few natural pine trees around Pines Lake. The area is mostly forested in black oak, white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
, and red oak along with flowering dogwoods and American beech
American Beech
Fagus grandifolia, also known as American Beech or North american beech, is a species of beech native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario in southeastern Canada, west to Wisconsin and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida in the United States. Trees in the...
. There are groves of mature Eastern hemlocks
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
that may have been mistaken for pine trees. The Glen is forested with mature oaks, hemlocks, and beech, including American sycamore
American sycamore
Platanus occidentalis, also known as American Sycamore, American plane, Occidental plane, and Buttonwood, is one of the species of Platanus native to North America...
s along the stream banks.
Pines Lake has several community beaches on the lake and an active community life, centered around swimming, tennis, and sail boating. One such beach is the Sunny Ridge Beach, at the foot of Sunny Ridge Road, which serves residents in the immediate vicinity. The lake is stocked with large-mouth bass, sunfish
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
, and Northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
. The lake supports flocks of mallards, coots
American Coot
The American Coot is a bird of the family Rallidae, inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies. Measuring in length and across the wings, adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes...
, swans
Mute Swan
The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...
and other ducks, herons, and waterfowl. On the weekend nearest July 4 each year a community celebration is held, including the "Baby" Parade—a costume parade for children walking, or on decorated bicycles, and on home made floats—culminating in a beach-side picnic and the crowning of Miss Pines Lake. Children living in Pines Lake are eligible to participate in the summer program, several weeks of supervised play and learning activities sponsored by the Pines Lake Association. Another large community event is the annual Lobster Bash sponsored by the Sailing Club which is always sold out. These and other events are held at the South Beach Pavilion, built in the 1980s. Pines Lake also has a very vibrant local sports community, the local Pines Lake swimming team has a large following and so do the Pines Lake Bighorns, a traveling basketball team from the area.
The Pines Lake community is also the location of Laurelwood Arboretum http://www.laurelwoodarboretum.org, a 30-acre botanically diverse property. Laurelwood features woodland trails and gardens, wildlife, two ponds, streams and hundreds of varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and other unusual species of plants and trees. Gravel paths wind and connect through the Arboretum, making it an ideal destination for hikers, runners, birdwatchers, plant enthusiasts and photographers. Once a commercial nursery, Laurelwood Arboretum is now maintained as a public park through a partnership between the Township of Wayne and the non-profit organization Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum, Inc (FOLA).
External links
- Pines Lake Women's Club
- USGS aerial image of Pines Lake - Pines Lake is on the right side of the photograph right of the lake with the bridge crossing it (which is Pompton Lake)
- Pines Lake - Photos on and around Pines Lake, New Jersey