Thomae Park is one of many small township parks that started from humble beginnings. In the early…read more1970s there was just a low lying piece of township land until residents built a playground from discarded car tires. Now there is a baseball field, basketball court and a proper playground as well as open field space where soccer and football is played. Thomae Park hosts many neighborhood events and township recreation ball games. An unpaved parking area can accommodate more than a dozen cars and makes a great starting spot for a walk along the Green Brook which by the way holds some nice fish.

Does anyone know what happened to the Revolutionary War era house that used to be in Thomae Park,…read moreprior to its development. I remember it from my childhood visiting the area.

Great park for 2-5 year old. Bathrooms are on site. Benches and grass area for picnicsread more

This is THE destination for families with young children in Scotch Plains. At first blush, that…read moreseems crazy, as the park is situated directly off of the busy Westfield Road. But, as one of the only fully fenced parks in the neighborhood, it has a fantastic setup to control the chaos that is the toddler phase. The park features a couple sets of swings, a few small areas with interactive pieces for smaller children, and a red merry-go-round that survived the 2023 park renovation. While I wouldn't recommend this park for older kids or those in the upper grades of elementary school, it's a perfect way to kill an afternoon with littler gremlins.

We brought our son here last year when we noticed they re-did it. The new equipment is well…read moremaintained and much nicer. There's a smaller section for small toddlers (smaller slides, a little house attached to it, etc.) and also a larger section for kids 5+ (larger slides, balance ropes, etc.). Both sections have some overhead coverage but the park itself is not shaded. There's also a separate area where the swings are and also a climbing rock/boulder. There's basketball courts adjacent to the kids playground and a good amount of parking. It's definitely one of the cleaner and newer parks around and would definitely recommend checking it out.

My little queens were tired of the same playgrounds. My bro's yelp review and pix impressed us all…read more We parked right in front and my kids (ages 3 and 5) ran to the castle-themed jungle gyms and had fun and freedom for the next 2 hours. There were so many structures that all the children had plenty of personal space. Special features included a roller-based slide, a zip-line, and a rope climb. It's an excellent playground I can add to the rotation. Come out and play! NOTES/TIPS: **Picnic tables, plenty of benches, and 2 porta-potties on-site. **If the main parking lot is full, additional parking is 200 ft. away. **The playground is next to a basketball court, baseball field, and soccer field.

Drove in around 12 noon on a Friday, noticed right away that although there was plenty of parking,…read morethe playground was packed. Benches for eating are at the entrance located close enough to watch your kids playing basketball or on the playground. This playground is neat... truly a castle inspired theme. Great for playing peekaboo with your toddlers with many mazes to get lost in and still be sure your child is safe and can't fall out the sides (too easily). There's also a slide that can be climbed which my son was very intrigued with, once he got to the top he'd jump on the big boy slide and come out the other end, he's 14 months so there's really so much for him to explore. There's also bigger slides for older kids, different monkey bars to climb, kiddie and big kid swings, little castles with benches and tables to picnic in, and plenty of benches surrounding the playground for parents to hang out in. We lived up to our mantra: PLAY HARD NAP HARD! Baby was knocked out as soon as we got in the car so I must say it was a good day. My name is Francis and I approve of this playground. YSA (yelp service announcement) When you come here punch into your GPS this address: 651 Shunkpike Rd. Chatham NJ otherwise you will get lost.

Recently, I wrote a review for Harry Dunham Park, which is also in Basking Ridge, about a mile or 2…read moredown the road from here. That park is actually closer to where I live, but this is where I prefer to come. I discovered it a few years ago. I always thought it was in Warren, but I guess technically it's Basking Ridge. My hours were somewhat wacky. In the past, back in the day, I had jogged at the high school track...even the local cemetery...but, given my increasingly bizarre hours, that wasn't really practical anymore. This park was a place where I could run early in the morning, or in the evening. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but I really like this place. It doesn't have some of the amenities that Harry Dunham has, but I think I can live without disc golf, if you wanna know the truth... I can't really tell how large the park is--- if you walk around the circumference of it, I'd guess it's approximately 2 miles? It has several athletic fields; some are obviously for baseball, the larger ones in the upper portion of the park look like they were designed for soccer (Pingry School is just up the road from the park, and I know the Italian Championship Soccer Team stayed there some years ago to practice...I wouldn't have known that...I'm as interested in soccer as I am in disc golf...but an Italian-born co-worker was a soccer enthusiast, and he told me). There's ample parking in the upper portion parallel to Liberty Corner Road, but I prefer coming down past a building used by the road department, where there's another parking lot-- this one is smaller but usually less crowded (unless it's a spring/summer evening and the athletic fields are being used by local sports teams, adult and juvenile). I'm not much of a jogger anymore, but I'll start with a jog, run as far on the path as I can before I become winded, walk some, jog a little more, walk even more, jog, pause to dry heave in the bushes, stagger walk until I recover, walk the rest of the way shakily, cautiously back to my car. It's ok. At least I'm still doing SOMETHING healthy, and the surrounding countryside is gorgeous (whatever season it is, although you have to watch the ice on the paths in the winter); it's always refreshing and restorative, whether I'm in shape or not. There are 2 small buildings at opposite ends of the park, that look like they have water fountains, and I guess have bathrooms as well (I haven't had to avail myself of them, so I can't really be sure). There are twisting paths that branch off from the park and wend their way through the woods, and I always like to take advantage of these. One time, I went off on a path that could have been a deer path, which twisted its way down a steep hillside, and came to a gurgling stream. Not exactly the Rocky Mountains, but I was impressed. Not sure where the stream leads (I've lived in Somerset County since I was in my teens, but I guess I'm still a Passaic County city boy at heart), but one day soon I'm going to have to spend more time and follow it along towards wherever it leads (Bedminster?). It's beautiful, tranquil, and occasionally even exhilarating, abundant with natural grandeur and loveliness. If there's such a thing as "God's Country," this could qualify. If there's a down side, it can get too crowded, especially on spring/summer evenings, when the sports teams and their "fans" monopolize the parking lot and playing fields. And there are a'holes who walk their dogs, let the dogs shite on the walking paths, and don't bother cleaning up. But you can't hold the park responsible for that. There are a'holes everywhere, sad to say. Even in bucolic, beautiful Somerset County.

Mountain Park offers walkers well-maintained paths with gorgeous views of New Jersey's rolling…read morehills and plants. There are a few paths you can take; some are more wooded than others. Even when the park is more crowded at peak times or during sporting events, there is enough space for everyone to enjoy and have some privacy while walking.

If your kids like plastic climbing walls, this is the place to come to! That is the main draw for…read morecoming to this great little neighborhood playground. It's on the corner of two residential streets that do not get much traffic.The entire area is fenced in, and the neighborhood is safe and peaceful. The paved parking lot fits about 20 cars. The park is basically a big flat lawn with well maintained green grass, and a border of trees. You might see some deer, a rabbit, or some Canada Geese. There's also swings, slides, a baseball field, a basketball court, some picnic tables, and a pavilion. This park sometimes has a port-a-potty but sometimes does not. There is no permanent restroom facility here. I live nearby this park, and in the two decades I've been here, I have rarely seen more than 25 people in the park at once. I have only heard good things about this park from the people I know in the neighborhood who bring the kids here, and who play basketball here. The park is named to honor Patrolman Dunham and Patrolman Lebed, who were killed on duty together in 1960. Two public roads in town, Lebed Drive and Dunham Street, are also named after them.