Burlington County is nearing the preservation of a 100-acre property in Springfield, adjacent to Arney’s Mount Park. The Burlington County Commissioners recently authorized the Department of Resource Conservation to finalize a contract for purchasing the Choi family property on Juliustown Road.
The land borders Arney’s Mount, which is the highest point in Burlington County and part of Arney’s Mount Park. The county plans to use part of this property to extend the Arney’s Mount Trail northward through Springfield toward the Burlington County Fairgrounds on Route 206. The remaining acreage will be restricted for agricultural use and later auctioned to buyers interested in farming.
“Burlington County has more than 67,000 acres of farmland saved – the most of any county in New Jersey – so we’re excited by this opportunity to preserve another important property both for agriculture and to enhance our regional trail system,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, who serves as liaison to the Department of Resource Conservation, Parks and Farmland Preservation. “By preserving more farmland we’re helping to keep agriculture a strong and viable industry in our county. We’re also protecting Burlington County’s open spaces from overdevelopment and creating more opportunities for safe, accessible outdoor recreation.”
The Choi property has supported grain and row crop production in recent years and was previously used for vegetables and greenhouse crops. This marks the second farm next to Arney’s Mount Park that is close to being preserved by the county. Last fall, officials announced a tentative agreement regarding nearly 270 acres at Van Wagoner Farm east of the park—239 acres are set aside through the Farmland Preservation Program while another 30 acres will be added directly into Arney’s Mount Park as open space.
Last summer, New Jersey completed preservation efforts at Three Willows Farm, a 70-acre site also located in Springfield. With these additions, over 6,200 acres have been preserved within Springfield through state and county programs—the most among all towns in Burlington County.
“Farmers feed our state and help power our economy, so I’m proud to see Burlington County continue to preserve farmland and open space,” said Assemblywoman Andrea Katz, chair of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. “Preserving farms helps keep our region a special place to live, and it also helps ensure agriculture remains strong and competitive for generations to come.”
Arney’s Mount Park covers about 186 acres acquired since 2003. Its trails opened in 2022 with features including a paved path around Arney’s Mount itself (2.2 miles), equestrian turf trails (2.45 miles), challenge trails through wooded areas at its base, parking facilities, picnic pavilion, and an accessible horse mounting platform.
Plans are underway for extending these trails with what is called the Arney’s Mount Fairgrounds Connector—a proposed route from Juliustown Road northwest across part of the Choi property toward the fairgrounds spanning approximately 3.5 miles. A $3.2 million grant has already been awarded for design and construction work on this extension.
All existing trails are included within Circuit Trails—a planned network totaling 850 miles intended to connect communities across South Jersey counties as well as five Pennsylvania counties surrounding Greater Philadelphia.
“Arney’s Mount Park already features some of the most scenic trails in the region, and this proposed connector path is another exciting addition to our regional network,” said Commissioner Randy Brolo. “The trail will also help advance the Circuit Trails vision and provide more opportunities for people to move about our county and experience its incredible beauty and history.”
Burlington County encompasses an area of 827 square miles—making it New Jersey’s largest county by area—and includes sites such as Historic Smithville Park with forests, meadows, streams, wetlands covering over 300 acres according to its official website. The Board of County Commissioners consists of five members serving at-large alongside Eve Cullinan as administrator (source). The county contains three cities among its forty political subdivisions (source).
