Double Trouble State Park offers an outstanding example of the Pine Barrens ecosystem and a window into the Pine Barrens history. The park provides the protection and interpretation of over 8000 acres of significant natural, cultural, and recreational resources representative of the Pinelands National Reserve.

Its location and resource base afford an opportunity to introduce visitors to southern New Jersey's natural and cultural heritage. Both the natural environment, consisting of a high quality Pine Barrens watershed, and an extremely well preserved historic village associated with New Jersey cranberry agriculture and Atlantic White Cedar logging and milling industries are available to visitors at Double Trouble State Park.

Double Trouble State Park is open daily 8:00 am to dusk. 
Office open Wednesday-Sundays

Through the Carry-In/Carry-Out Program you can help us keep your parks clean and beautiful by carrying out the trash you carry in. Bags are provided throughout the site. Thank you for your cooperation and remember to recycle.

Cranberry culture started at Double Trouble Village during the Civil War, when cleared Atlantic White Cedar swamps were converted into cranberry bogs.  By the early 20th century, the Double Trouble Company had one of the largest cranberry operations in New Jersey.  Cranberry bogs at Double Trouble Village are maintained through an agricultural special use permit with a farmer.  Visitors to the park are not permitted in the cranberry bogs however, the bogs may be viewed from the marked nature trail.

The farmers who maintain the Double Trouble Village cranberry bogs have completed their harvest for this year.

Located on the eastern edge of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Double Trouble Village provides a window into Pine Barrens industry with a complete company town, a sawmill, and a cranberry sorting and packing house.  Its natural resources are characterized by thousands of acres of undisturbed woodlands and the pristine waters of Cedar Creek.  This area has served as a focal point of human activity since the time of the native Lenape people.  Today it preserves some of the early industries that have shaped the landscape of the Pine Barrens while preserving its unique natural beauty.

The Double Trouble Historic District occupies over 200 acres and includes the village and surrounding bogs.  The natural environment of cedar forest and rapidly flowing stream provided both raw materials and water power for an extensive lumber industry from the 1700s to the 1900s.  As timber was cut, the cleared swampland created bog habitat ideal for growing cranberries.  A fruit native to North America, the cranberry was originally named the “crane-berry” because its blossom resembles the crooked neck of a sand crane.  Cranberry culture began at Double Trouble Village in the 1860s.  By the 20th century, the Double Trouble Company was one of the largest cranberry operations in the state.  With technological advancements and the change from the back breaking “dry” harvest of cranberries by hand to the mechanized “wet” harvest still used today, the large seasonal labor force of migrant workers who lived in the village was no longer needed.  Cranberry cultivation continues today in several bogs maintained by leaseholders.

Double Trouble Village was typical of company towns built in the Pine Barrens.  These isolated communities were entirely self-sufficient and totally dependent on the success of the particular industry.  The restored sawmill and cranberry packing house contain nearly intact equipment.  Those two buildings were the focus of life and work in the village, which also includes a late 19th century one room schoolhouse, general store, bunk house, cook house, shower house, maintenance shop, pickers’ cottages and the foreman’s house.  The restored sawmill and cranberry packing house are open during guided village tours, while the remaining buildings have been adaptively reused or are not restored and are closed.

The village was purchase by the State of New Jersey in 1964 to help protect the Cedar Creek watershed.  The Double Trouble Historic District was placed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1977 and on the National Register in 1978.

There are no picnic tables located in the park.  Cooking grills, fires, swimming, camping, and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.  Organized activities may require a Special Use Permit – contact the Island Beach State Park office at 732-793-0506 for details.

Download Double Trouble Historic Village Guide
Download Double Trouble General Information & Maps

*To view this form, please download the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat

Double Trouble State Park is open daily 8 a.m. to dusk.  The interpretive center is open most weeks 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday.  Guided village tours, including viewing static exhibits inside the restored sawmill and cranberry packing house, start at the interpretive center.  As most of the tour is outside with walking on soft sand, participants should dress accordingly.  There are also wayside signs throughout the historic district recounting the ecological and cultural story of the area.  

Individual or group tours and hikes, school class trips, teacher professional development workshops, and Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girl Scout advancement requirement programs may be arranged with the interpretive staff by calling 732-341-4098.

Download Double Trouble Scout Advancement Programs
Download Double Trouble Word Find
Download Build a Double Trouble Cranberry Scoop

The Cedar Creek watershed lies mostly in Berkeley and Lacey Townships and drains an area of 54.3 square miles.  Waterways within the Cedar Creek watershed include Cedar Creek, Webbs Mill Branch, Chamberlain Branch, Daniels Branch, Newbolds Branch, Factory Branch, Deep Hollow Branch, Huckleberry Branch, and several other unnamed tributaries of the Cedar Creek.  Cedar Creek drains into Barnegat Bay, and is part of the Barnegat Bay Watershed Management Area.

Like most Pine Barrens streams, the water of Cedar Creek is “tea colored” because of tannic acid from the roots of the cedars lining the river banks.  Ship captains reportedly filled wooden barrels with this cold water for their long sails in the Atlantic.  This pristine water gave Cedar Creek the alternate name of Clear Brook in the late-18th century.  Cedar Creek supplied both water power and raw material for several early industries, including lumber mills, iron furnaces, cranberry bogs and blueberry fields.

Double Trouble State Park was established in 1964 to help protect the Cedar Creek watershed and now features over 8,000 acres of Pine Barrens habitats.  From its headwaters in the Greenwood Forest Management Area to its mouth at Barnegat Bay, Cedar Creek provides the water required for cranberry culture and supplies a pure source of water for wildlife. Adjacent bogs and uplands provide examples of plants characteristic to the Pine Barrens.

Visitors to Double Trouble State Park can canoe or kayak Cedar Creek as it winds its way through the park.  There are three access locations in the state park:  at Dover Forge off Dover Road/CR 618, between Pinewald-Keswick Road and Lacey Road; at Ore Pond off Pinewald-Keswick Road/ CR 618, one mile west of the Double Trouble Village entrance; and at the White Bridge in Double Trouble Village.  Paddlers are permitted to carefully drive through the village to drop off or pick up their canoe or kayak.  There is no parking at the White Bridge.  Vehicles are not permitted at the Mill Pond Reservoir or around the cranberry bogs.

Tubing, rafting and swimming are prohibited at Double Trouble State Park.  Canoes and kayaks are not available for rent at the park.

Download Double Trouble Cedar Creek Access Locations

The Double Trouble Historic District has a self-guided, marked 1.5-mile loop nature trail and several miles of unmarked paths along sand service roads. Nature trail guides are available at the trailhead next to the cranberry packing house and at the park information building.

Download Double Trouble Nature Trail Guide
Download Double Trouble Historic District Trails and Cranberry Bogs Map

Double Trouble Village is an active cranberry farm. Visitors are asked to use caution around the bogs and reservoirs.  Vehicles are not permitted beyond the parking area except for canoe access at the White Bridge.  Horseback riding & mountain biking are permitted on existing sand roads only; mountain bikers and geocachers are asked to refrain from creating rogue trails.  No ATVs or motorized vehicles.  Pets must be on a leash (6 feet or less in length) at all times and owners must clean up after their pets. 

The Dover Forge Walk-In Area is located off Dover Road/CR 618 approximately 1.2 miles south of the intersection with Pinewald-Keswick Road.  The site of a former bog iron forge and cranberry bogs, Dover Forge has an unmarked 1/3-mile walking trail to a scenic overview of Cedar Creek. (See Cedar Creek Access Locations map for approximate location.)

Warning!  Ticks may be present year round.  It is advisable to take precautions and check yourself closely for ticks after visiting the park.

View the State Park Service areas open to hunting for 2012-2013

Parts of Double Trouble State Park are open for hunting. For information about hunting, refer to the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Digest or contact the park office.

Double Trouble State Park Hunting and Trapping Safety Zones map*

*To view this form, please download the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat

• New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
• NJ Pinelands Commission
• Pinelands Preservation Alliance

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