Department of Parks and Recreation

530 acres
1170 Cattus Island Boulevard
Toms River, NJ 08753
732-270-6960

Cattus Island County Park Opens 7am and Closes at: Dusk
The Cooper Environmental Center is open:
Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm, exluding major holidays.
The Center's first hour is reserved for Seniors and vulnerable populations.

CATTUS ISLAND TRAIL UPDATE:
2/2/2024 Cattus Island County Park has witnessed the most coastal flooding on record during the month of January 2024. With two big coastal storms occurring within the same week and several weeks of rainy days, the trails have incurred extensive flooding damage. The main trail was closed 6 days during January for high tidal water breaching over the main causeway. Of these 6 days, Cattus Island County Park was completely closed for 1 1/2 days due to the inaccessibility to the Cooper Environmental Center and other surrounding trails. The recent rainy days have caused the high tides to run much higher causing further damage and slowing clean up.
Currently, the Orange Trail is completely closed along with partial closures on the Blue and White and Yellow trails. These areas have received substantial structural damage which makes these locations unsafe. Many sections of all the trails could be muddy or boggy. Please respect the “closed trail signs”. Staff and volunteers are out on the trails continually accessing the damage, cleaning up, and making necessary repairs for the safety of our visitors. These sections will reopen as soon as the necessary repairs are completed

Come and visit the newly renovated nature center with brand new exhibits highlighting the natural beauty of the park and the Barnegat Bay! There is a Wheel Chair accessible 1000ft ADA Boardwalk.

Take in the unspoiled beauty of Cattus Island County Park, which spans 530 acres and 7 miles of trails. Take a leisurely walk along the main trail to the beach, or walk a trail and enjoy many lovely vistas of Barnegat Bay. Cattus Island is home to the newly renovated Cooper Environmental Center where visitors of all ages will enjoy hands-on educational displays such as a live view osprey cam, habitat tree and tunnel, bird viewing area, children's activity corner and a spectacular collection of live reptiles and fish. The park also contains a beautiful Butterfly Garden where you can view native plants and pollinators.