Natural Spring Discovered in Cedar Grove Community Park

Kids today have unequaled access to modern technology, which often keeps them occupied and indoors with after school programs and STEM camps year round. When you remind them that just a generation ago, not everyone had high-speed internet, video streaming was in its infancy, and kids still used to ride bikes around town throughout June and July, sans cellphone, it comes as a bit of a shock. Equally, many Americans today are shocked to recall that tourists used to travel from across America to “take the waters” at Saratoga Springs in New York State, seeking their purported health benefits. By 1911, Saratoga Springs’ heyday was over, with a decline in patent medicine and an increase in scientific knowledge.

New Jersey never experienced quite the mineral spring boom that New York did, but as of today the state is home to well over 500 recorded surface water springs. This is not much of a surprise when you consider that indigenous people and settlers have had to seek drinking water from somewhere for as long as the state has been populated. Still, it’s a surprise when a previously undocumented spring in New Jersey is discovered or rediscovered, which is exactly what has happened in Cedar Grove.

On March 14th, Ted Pallis and associates from New Jersey’s Bureau of Water Resources and Geoscience, visited Community Park in Cedar Grove and confirmed the existence of a hillslope spring along a walking path near the parking lot. Pallis is a Geographic Information Systems Specialist employed by the NJ DEP as well as a bit of an expert on the springs of New Jersey. In fact, he and his talented team have literally written the book on the subject: "Springs of New Jersey" is a heavily photographed, 299 page labor of love and academic research into the topic. (Free pdf)

The spring in Cedar Grove’s Community Park, dubbed Cedar Spring on Google Maps, is a hillslope spring. When water beneath the ground meets the surface on the side of a hill, a hillslope spring occurs. Natural springs are important water sources for wildlife and are also essential for biodiversity. Springs create a unique habitat for plants and animals that are adapted to live in wet, humid environments. These habitats are often home to rare and endangered species. Natural springs provide a source of water, food, and shelter for a variety of plants and animals. This includes insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Far from a recent addition, Cedar Spring has a long history in Cedar Grove. As recently as 2017, the Cedar Grove Environmental Resource Inventory references a 1968 report that includes information about the Community Park site. Community Park was at various times grazing land for local farms. Springs like Cedar Spring likely provided drinking water for those animals. There’s also reference to wells on the property, demonstrating the long presence of freshwater on the site. Cedar Spring flows year round, in hot weather and cold, and in dry weather and wet.

Today, Cedar Spring is a testament to the natural health of the land around the park. Heavily forested and undeveloped, it is incredible that this area and underlying aquifers has remained undisturbed enough over the centuries for the spring to remain intact. The railroad came, the railroad went, and today the West Essex Hiking Trail runs nearby, but through it all the spring has remained. To visit the spring, take a walk near the snack stand or if you prefer, pull it up on Google Maps and in typical 2024 fashion, you too can leave a review for this natural wonder.