Lake Topanemus remains popular spot for activities BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - One of the area's most scenic settings, Lake Topanemus, is ready for another year of use. The lake is owned by Freehold Borough and located on Pond Road in Freehold Township. According to commission Chairman Roger Kane, Lake Topanemus is a beautiful "four-season park" that may be enjoyed year-round. The commission has worked to improve the park over the years and the 2008 improvements include a new trail, new benches and scheduled bird walks. The 90-acre park has long been a favorite place for visitors to fish, bike, picnic, walk, bird watch or just relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of this slice of nature right in the middle of suburbia. Kane said a new trail that will be between a half-mile and 1 mile in length is in the process of being added to the existing trail in order to create one big loop. "We contacted Freehold Township officials to see if we could acquire this additional acreage for the park to be used as an additional trail. The land is part of Freehold Township's Green Acres program," Kane said. The Lake Topanemus Commission is providing all of the materials for the construction of the trail and employees of the Freehold Borough and Freehold Township public works departments are providing the labor. "This is another example of two municipalities working together for the benefit of their residents," Kane said. One of the goals of the Lake Topanemus Commission is to have enough trails to attract more members of the Freehold Area Running Club as well as members of the Freehold High School cross country teams. "We would like to see the high school students have a safe place to run," Kane said. Commissioner Ed Daley of Freehold Borough said he is pleased with the new trail being constructed and said he is looking forward to offering runners a safe place, away from traffic, to run and walk "off-road." Daley, who has been a runner for 25 years, said the new trail will be crafted with 4 inches of crushed stone and a layer of 2 inches of stone dust on top. This will provide some cushioning for runners Daley said the new hard-packed trail will be open to bicyclists, runners and walkers, and all are welcome at the park. Also on tap for the spring are two bird walks. One bird walk is scheduled for April 6 and another is planned for later in April. According to Kane, the walks will begin at 8:30 a.m. and last for about an hour. The walks will be conducted by commission volunteer Nano Mardones, who has previously conducted bird walks at Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan. "We are telling people to bring binoculars so they can really enjoy viewing the 70 species of birds that we have out here at this time of year," Kane said.