Hunting Season Continues At Double Trouble Through Jan. 31

BAYVILLE, NJ - If you are planning on visiting Double Trouble State Park anytime soon, please be aware that some types of hunting will be allowed in much of the park through Jan. 31,

Although firearms season just ended, the permit shotgun season will start on Dec. 13 and run through Dec. 15. That will be followed by the permit muzzleloader season from Dec. 16 through Dec. 23, and again from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30. The winter bow season is slated for Jan. 1 through Jan. 31.

Visitors to the massive 8,495-acre park off Pinewald-Keswick Road can still visit the safety zones in the historic village and the cranberry bogs. But with most of the state park open for hunting for much of the next month and a half, it might not be the best time for a stroll.

"Approximately 93 percent of Double Trouble State Park is available for hunting, with the exclusion of the safety zones around the Double Trouble Historic District and cranberry bogs, according to the Double Trouble State Park Facebook page.

The historic district is the area where workers who harvested the cranberries once lived. It includes a 19th century one-room schoolhouse, general store, bunk house, cook house, shower house, maintenance shop, pickers' cottage, foreman's house, the restored sawmill and the cranberry packing house.

"Hunters and trappers should be especially alert for other park visitors, hikers, dog walkers, geocachers, horseback riders and canoe and kayak paddlers who may not be familiar with hunting/trapping, and for designated safety zones around the Double Trouble Historic District and leased cranberry bogs," according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Park visitors are encourage to wear bright colors.

To see the park's safety zones, click here: http://njparksandforests.org/…/double_trouble_hunting_safet…

Photo: Patricia A. Miller