Has anyone heard of the Blue Hole?

[Matthew]

Hello,

I came across this on a site called www.midnightsociety.com It's a collection of weird, abandoned, and spooky places in NJ...Much like the magazine Weird NJ if you've ever heard of that. Anyway, the Blue Hole is in the Winslow Fish and Wildlife Management Area, on the borderline of Winslow Township, Camden County, and Monroe Township. It's a small pond that was at one time supposedly bottomless. A group of scientists/engineers dropped about a 1/2 mile of weighted line into the hole and ran out before they hit bottom, or so the story goes. These days it seems that sediment has filled the so-called bottomless hole, which still could be dangerous I guess...The stuff at the bottom has the consistency of quicksand. The hole has been described as all sorts of things including the bathing area of the Jersey Devil. Has anyone heard of this place? Apparently it was inaccessible for quite some time because the only road leading to it was washed out, but it was restored a while ago. This site has all sorts of cool NJ stuff, and some Pinelands lore too...Ghost stories about Carranzza road, the legendary 539 rock (Is it still painted up like the flag these days? I hope no one ever changes it.), finding cement dummy bombs out on the ranges, the pygmy pines, abandoned cranberry bogs, and of course the BOMARC missle base off of 539. Anyway, just figured I'd throw this out there to see if anyone knew of it. Anyone know of other weird Pinelands sites?

Later,

Matthew

 

[JeffD]

The last time I looked, which was in the past few months, Matthew, the rock painted as an American flag along route 539 was still there. I occasionally drive along 539 from Allentown, NJ, sometimes all the way to where it ends on route 9 and have noticed it. "Oh, there's that rock," I say.

That bottomless lake said to be a place where the Jersey Devil bathes is a cool story.

As to abandoned bogs. A group from this and other sites got together for an outing yesterday. One of the places we visited was an abandoned cranberry bog in Friendship. We walked around a bog and found highbush bluberry plants, beaver homes, some occupied and some not, and other neat things.

Jeff

 

[bach2yoga]

Matthew,
I haven't posted here before, but some of you know me from Barry's group.
I hiked the Blue Hole a couple of months ago with my youngest child. You can drive it, but it was an easy hike, under a half hour each way--just a lot of sugar sand. The trail is marked with blue markers on the trees, and it is next to a shotgun training area.
The blue hole was much smaller than I expected, and much greener than it was blue. Wasn't nearly as creepy as the stories, though I believe someone did drown in it earlier this year.
There is also a letterbox hidden there that we found and stamped.
Renee S

 

[BarryC]

Matthew,
I'm very familiar with midnightsociety.com and with Weird NJ. I've got every issue except the rare ones. I live off of Route 30 just outside Egg Harbor and the Blue Hole is not too far from me, but believe it or not I have not been there yet. That's one place I want to get to in the next year (or less).
I read in a newspaper article once that there are many so-called Blue Holes in South Jersey. That one I think is the most famous.
I went by the Route 539 Rock a couple of weeks ago and it was still painted up as the flag. I think it will stay that way a long time.
We explored around abandoned cranberry bogs yesterday. They are all through the Pine Barrens if you know where to look.
The day I drove by the 539 Rock we also explored a little bit in the Pygmie Pines, aka the Pine Plains.
Also we visited the Carranza Memorial yesterday. I've never heard any ghost stories (first hand) about the Pine Barrens.
Thanks for asking.
Barry

 

[farmerbob]

Here in Cumberland county you can't walk a mile without falling into a bluehole, very cool places. Along with RR tracks and the marsh, blueholes are a favorite hiking destination...Bob.

 

[bach2yoga]

Hi, FarmerBob,
We're in Cumberland County too.
Renee

 

[traflex2002]

I am looking for the "Blue Hole" that Beck talked about in his book. I have found other blue holes that are very interesting. Two are located in Greenwood. One I stumbled on while my girl and I were hiking off of Railroad avenue. The road that is between Lebanon and Greenwood, on the Greenwood side. There were 2 located behind the sand pit. (can't remember the name) One of them is a large run off pit. It is incredibly beautiful. The water is a wonderful blue green. It is surounded on three sides by pines, that gently slope down to the water. We have been back there many times. I have since found a way in on dirt roads that come in to the rear of the sandpit. I could go on forever! I'll write again about the other "blu holes" I have found. Tom

 

[westyvw]

Sounds like Tom has found Hidden Lakes.

 

[traflex2002]

Discovered the pond or lakes by accident. I just got a digital camera. I'll take some pics, and send them. I found two others in the same area. My girl and I felt like two explorers in the wilderness. We found one of the holes pretty far in, and I thought no one had been there in some time. Then I noticed the one sure sign of mans encroachment. Multitudes of empty beer cans! I also noticed the many sunken cars below the surface of the beautiful blue water. I that both of these smaller holes were clay pits, possibly for the terra cota factory.

 

[traflex2002]

Discovered the pond or lakes by accident. I just got a digital camera. I'll take some pics, and send them. I found two others in the same area. My girl and I felt like two explorers in the wilderness. We found one of the holes pretty far in, and I thought no one had been there in some time. Then I noticed the one sure sign of mans encroachment. Multitudes of empty beer cans! I also noticed the many sunken cars below the surface of the beautiful blue water. I that both of these smaller holes were clay pits, possibly for the terra cota factory.

 

[JeffD]

"Then I noticed the one sure sign of mans encroachment. Multitudes of empty beer cans! I also noticed the many sunken cars below the surface of the beautiful blue water."

I can't understand what posesses people to make a mess like that, Tom. Do they think that after they leave it will magically disappear. Or is part of what's called the MTV mentality, where people don't think of the past or future and there's no continuity? This kind of sub-human creature would see the Berlin wall coming down and say something like "hey, someone's wrecking a wall", without understanding what led up to it and what the future holds. This kind of behavior only gives fuel to the environmental extremists who want to rope humans out of these kinds of areas to protect nature. Fortunately, many people have more respect for the environment. Acting responsibly when you visit an area like this is something some offical and unofficial organizations are promoting. And the more reponsible people you get visiting places such as this, especially if they have a cell phone, the better protected they will be. Of course, the low life comes out a night, and I can understand having some regulations to restrict, or at least monitor, visitation of these places at night.

These blue holes sound magnificent. Lets' keep them that way!

Jeff