"It is an active, open park," Evesham town manager Walt Miller told Township Council on September 16, as reported by the Pine Barrens Tribune. He was talking about the former Beagle Club on Elmwood Road North, a tract the township bought in 2022. That same night he said he hadn't known it was missing from the township website's park list, and he said he would fix it.
That exchange explains Evesham's outdoor map this fall. The township has been adding land and facilities quickly. It has the grant money, it signed the letter of intent, and the ribbon was cut. But at each property the finishing work, the permits and the closings are a step or two behind. This fall, the township's parks are at four different stages. Knowing a park's stage tells you what you'll find when you pull into the lot.
| Place | Where | Stage this fall | Still pending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson House pickleball courts | 535 E. Main St. | Finished, new booking rules | Nothing |
| Completely Inclusive Playground, Evesboro Downs Park | 131 Evesboro-Medford Road | Open | Permanent bathrooms |
| Former Beagle Club | 477 Elmwood Road North | Open, upgrades on hold | NJDEP permitting |
| Former Barton Run Swim Club | 100 Lakeside Drive | Being acquired | Closing, demolition, park design |
| Samost Tract, Black Run headwaters | Southwestern Evesham | Under contract to a nonprofit | Nonprofit's closing, transfer to township |
Finished: The Courts in Front of Gibson House
The pickleball complex outside the Gibson House Community Center is the only item on that list with nothing left to do. Its rules changed on October 4, when the township switched on online reservations.
The eight courts are split down the middle:
- Four reservable courts for players who book a specific court and time ahead
- Four walk-up courts that run first come, first served
- $5 per booking for a single daily reservation
- Annual pass for a full calendar year of online booking: $50 for Evesham residents, $75 for non-residents, with $10 off for military veterans
Under the township's walk-up rules, a reservable court stays free and open whenever nobody has booked it. If a group shows up with a confirmed reservation for that slot, walk-up players have to give up the court. So on a quiet weekday morning you have eight courts to choose from. At busy times, a reservation is the only sure way to get a court at a set hour. Accounts and passes are handled through the township's reservation system.
Open but Still Being Built: Evesboro Downs
The Completely Inclusive Playground at Evesboro Downs Park opened with a ribbon-cutting on August 6. It covers 12,000 square feet and was paid for with a $731,000 grant from New Jersey's Green Acres program. The township says it was able to apply because the state changed its rules to let municipalities apply directly, where before only counties could.
The township says the design goes beyond standard ADA requirements. Features include:
- Pour-in-place rubber surfacing that wheelchairs and strollers can roll across without a break
- A wheelchair-accessible two-story play structure
- A separate toddler area
- Sensory stations, tactile walls and an outdoor percussion zone
- A Zero-G chair swing and an inclusive seesaw
- More ADA-compliant parking, accessible walkways and new benches
The one thing missing is a bathroom. The township said permanent bathrooms would be added "in the coming months" as part of wider park upgrades. Pine Barrens Tribune coverage on September 10 still described them as planned. A family planning a long afternoon there should check before counting on them.
Open but Unlisted: The Elmwood Road Tract
The former Beagle Club is the biggest open space on this list that you can walk today. The township's project page lists it at 176 acres and says it is open to the public while it is developed for passive recreation. The Pine Barrens Tribune gave the acreage as 166.
The improvements are stuck in state permitting. At the September 16 meeting, Miller described a stormwater management review with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that he expected to take "probably in the next year." Grant money is available to resurface trail roads once the permits come through. The open question is whether NJDEP will require an archaeological study of the site. If it does, Miller said, permitting will take longer, and any finds could mean changing the plans to avoid certain areas.
The township's own timeline aims for Phase 1 DEP submissions in late 2026 and construction starting in 2027. Until then, a resident who drives up to 477 Elmwood Road North finds the land as it is now: open and usable, without the finished trails and features shown in the original plans.
Being Acquired: Barton Run's Old Swim Club
On Lakeside Drive, the next park doesn't belong to the township yet. Orleans Investment Land Associates had proposed building six single-family homes on the former Barton Run Swim Club site. Instead, Township Council approved a letter of intent in August to buy the land for open space. The township announced the deal on September 2.
These are the numbers a township spokesman gave the Pine Barrens Tribune:
- About 3.84 acres in the acquisition ordinance
- $670,000 to $810,000 as the price range, with the final number set by a Green Acres appraisal
- Up to $405,000 from the Green Acres grant, capped at half the final price
- The balance from the township's open space funds
The price also covers work by the current owner, who will tear down the clubhouse and the pool, fill the site and plant grass. Council introduced the acquisition ordinance on first reading on September 16. At that meeting Miller said he hoped the deal would settle "within probably the next couple months." He also said the township is going after more grants for possible additions later, including a playground or rain gardens.
Barton Run residents will have a say in the park's design. The township says the layout and amenities will be worked out with residents, with a focus on passive open space. Meeting dates will be announced after the closing.
Barton Run is part of a series of purchases. The same township release lists 18 acres bought from the Board of Education off Greenbrook Drive in Country Farms and the 176 preserved acres at the old Beagle Club.
Under Contract: The Black Run Headwaters
The largest piece is also the furthest from done. The 835-acre Samost Tract in the southwestern part of the township contains the headwaters of the Black Run Preserve. Evesham has agreed to take over ownership and care of the tract once the New Jersey Conservation Foundation buys it.
The foundation's September 2026 appeal letter says it has a binding contract to buy the property. It also says transaction costs and funding for long-term care still have to be covered before the deal can close.
The preserve that already exists downstream is open now. The Friends of the Black Run Preserve care for the township-owned park under a memorandum of cooperation, and their site lists the Kettle Run Road East Trailhead as an access point. The headwaters tract would add land upstream of trails people already use.
The Block of East Main Street That Ties November Together
Two of Evesham's late-fall events happen next to one of these parks. The 11th Annual Marlton Turkey Trot 5K starts at Savich Field, 525 East Main Street, on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, November 26, and runs from 8 to 10 a.m. The pickleball courts at 535 E. Main St. are one address away.
Nine days later, on Saturday, December 5, the township's Holiday Light Parade runs along Main Street from 4 to 8 p.m., following a council resolution adopted in June. Players with an evening reservation that day should check the parade route before driving over.
By then the Barton Run sale may have closed, if it stays on the couple-of-months timeline Miller gave in September. The Elmwood Road tract will probably still be in the DEP queue.
If a new park near your street has you curious about where your own house stands and you want a number based on recent sales near you rather than a portal estimate, Ray Moorhouse Real Estate Group will put together a free, no-pressure What's My Home Worth? review for your home.
