Many people don't know this but New Jersey has alot of parks. Some are real good finds. Flat Rock Brook is a hidden gem. It is tucked away in a residential neighborhood. We went on Friday afternoon and we were lucky to get a parking space. The parking lot is small with only about 15 spots. Hiking was very easy even though it was not marked. It was nice to be able to enjoy the great outdoors without having to drive a long distance. The highlight of the visit was the aviary. The aviary housed 1 falcon and 2 owls. It was really cool to see these birds close up! read more

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Flat Rock is more rustic than I expected given the location and relative lack of hype. It offers more varied terrain than some other suburban spots like Emerson Woods Preserve. The sign mentioning NYC being 4.3 miles away is a clever comment on the unexpected location, unclear if that's a "crow files" metric or an actual journey involving walking over the GWB. (click here for my "Fear of Heights" podcast on Audacy). At least one of the wooden bridges across the water wasn't in good shape. If it fails you won't drown but you might get muddy. And in one major advantage over other quirky NJ nature spots is the existence of a bathroom (depending on the hours of the nature center building, which are shorter than those of the overall preserve). Geography notes: you won't want to walk all the way to/from downtown Englewood as I did, the 166 bus gets relatively close but is a relatively slow ride. read more

Flat Rock Brook Nature Association - Hiking Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

My sister who lived in Ft Lee discovered this park during the height of the pandemic & shared it to us. We have been coming ever since & enjoyed it. I like to walk in the city parks but not into mountain hiking so this place is perfect & easy enough for middle age ladies like me with not so perfect knees. The place is small & there are trails you can follow. I see a lot of older folks & young families with small kids. There's an area where you can cross the brook by stepping on the stones as well as a pond with some turtles. We've been to this park in all seasons & we enjoy it every time. Perfect quiet spot to check off your 10k steps & enjoy nature. read more

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Flat Rock is a small and easy hike. I think the real attraction here is the education building. Unfortunately, it's still not open but you can still visit the trails. I'd suggest taking a look at the map to see which trail you want to take. When everything is open and we're not in the middle of a pandemic, they have some birds out to see and learn some cool facts about. There's a small parking lot but street parking is very easy. While the building is closed they offer hand sanitizer when arriving and leaving the park. It's a nice perk! Bring a few dollars to donate as well. read more

Flat Rock Brook Nature Association - Hiking Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

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I have bookmarked a ton of places since moving here that I want to hike at or experience and this one was close to where I live. Parking was simple. No charge to get in. Not a ton of people. This park was really nice. They have plaques with information on each area and what type of habitat it is and what animals you can find in each section. We hiked the trails just after it had rained and I brought all 3 of my kids (14,5 and 2!) and it did get muddy but they have wooden pieces across most of the muddy areas so it wasn't too bad. We saw a baby deer!! We saw bullfrogs, chipmunks and tons of birds. My kids had a blast and this was fairly easy for them to hike without problems. I want to come back with just my older son and stay longer. Def worth checking out! Being outside is always better than inside. read more

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Nice spot to escape from the city and shopping. The trails were muddy two days after the rain and the leaves covered most of them. The playground is a small area for kids to play and to run around. Would come back in the spring and definitely not after rain. read more

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Hiking has always been a part of my life. As a young man from the age of 12 I used to take a bus to Bear Mountain and hike and camp along the Appalachian trail. Despite loving this activity I haven't enjoyed doing this for a while. Today I went to this park for the first time and found a gem of a site for hiking. I've gone to numerous places in the area but I had never visited this park despite living near it for 20 years. In fact my parents have lived in Englewood for approximately 30 years and the entrance to the park is a walking distance from their home. It's amazing that so close to the city there could be so much natural beauty and it could be so easily missed. There were dear grazing right by one of the trails and they didn't even run away as we approached. This was an awesome experience and most of all unexpected. I plan to go back and walk all the trails, they were challenging and interesting but they felt safe to walk. There weren't any weirdos walking around like at other places I've walked. Unfortunately, some places for hiking seem to attract unusual characters which you always have to be careful of. This place was really nice with only families and people just coming to walk. read more

Flat Rock is pretty much our go-to when we have a day with no plans. Very peaceful and very scenic. It's a great spot for novice hikers and those with small children (we belong to both those clubs, lol). We love spending a few minutes with the owls before we set off on the short trail and ending the trip searching for the many frogs and fish in the brook. On more adventurous days, we'll take a longer path that spits us out by the park nearby. Great motivation for the kiddos to "keep walking," lol. Just a beautiful place, an easy excuse to be outdoors. read more

My boyfriend and I came out here to explore. Lots to see and experience out here. It was also cool that they had owls and other birds on display. read more

Flat Rock Brook Nature Association - Hiking Near Me - Englewood, New Jersey

A nice place to have a hike. There are real raptors in cages that you can view while you are there. I don't know too much about raptor care. They seemed bored and lonely to me, but who knows - maybe they sleep during the day and are awake all night? Do they stay outside always or do they have an indoor enclosure for when it's cold? Just wondering. In any case, it's a good place to get some Nature if you are in the Fort Lee/Englewood/Palisades Park area. read more

I have never in my life so quickly fallen in love with a place as I have with Flat Rock Brook. I found this place on a whim while taking my customary Sunday morning drive after work. (I work the graveyard shift.) Having always seen it on my GPS, I made it a mission to find it and go on a quick hike. I found it at the dead end of Van Nostrand Ave in Englewood; a gravel pit parking area complete with a small gazebo picnic area next to the pond and small boardwalk with it's own aviary and garden and an actual "Nature Center," which was closed, that may be used as a classroom for field trip students or perhaps as an educational museum-style building. I thought that this area was beautiful in itself so I couldn't wait to see the trails. Maps were available at the beginning of the trails and, to prevent waste, they ask that one map be taken per group. The map consisted of the trails and different areas available throughout the park as well as park rules but I barely gave it a glance as I was off onto the Red Loop trail as quick as my feet could take me. It's their longest trail, (approx. 1mi.) but it's the one trail that intersects with all the other ones. Rugged terrain on most parts and narrow on others, my "quick hike" instantly upgraded to a light workout which put a BIG smile on my face! It's truly wonderful to find an actual hiking trail that can provide a bit of a challenge. Moreover, the park, for lack of a better title, is filled with a variety of animals here and there. I've never seen so many chipmunks! Either that or the same one was following me around. Perhaps my most astounding find though was the deer sighting; two does, on the very trail right in front of me, just looked up at me as if they were saying hello to their neighbor and continued meandering into the flora and fauna nibbling here and there on a few leaves off of a low hanging branch. I was in pure awe! It's everything one could ask for out of a nature experience. Perhaps the only downside is that they don't allow dogs. I know many a dog lover, myself included, that love walking trails with their doggy companions. However, after seeing how much animal activity there is in this park, I'm starting to see the reason behind the rule. Even if I didn't, it wouldn't be enough for me to give this place anything less than 5 stars. I cannot wait to go back! read more

For the folks who always say they'll be more active but don't know where to start or believe that hiking is hardcore. This place will guide you to nirvana. It's both really easy to hike and great for nature enthusiast/rookies. There's a lot of non-intimidating chipmunks. If you are scared of getting lost, don't be. You can tell it's a really small wooded area because you can hear the occasional cars, planes, and residents. But that doesn't detract from the allure of the park. This place seriously is like a pocket of natural goodness in our industrial suburb. Also, there's a very straightforward, easy-to-follow map that depicts trails, which are in and of themselves really really easy. One "long" trail lasts about half an hour to forty minutes. Almost truly got the Walden experience. read more

I saw this place after looking up nature centers in the New York/Northern New Jersey. I saw that it was minutes from the George Washington Bridge. There were a handful of reviews online, which were all favorable, and the website was also reassuring. The Nature Center and Trails are 100% free. The Nature Center is opened from 9-5 during the week and from 1-5 on the weekends. Those hours are for the buildings, the actual park itself is opened from sunrise to sunset. The main entrance is on Van Nostrand Avenue where there is a parking lot. In that immediate area, there is the Nature Center, the Quarry Pond the Boardwalk Trail. The Boardwalk trail has a few birds in caged habitats including owls. The Nature Center is small but very informative. The only live animals we were able to see in there were turtles. The Nature Center had a bunch of exhibits including some on ponds, the animals of the area and the landscape of the area. It was neat as well. Though don't plan to spend more than about 45 minutes or so in there. I read all of the exhibit in about 25 minutes. Also, though I understood that the building hours were until 5PM, workers had already started to close doors at about 4:20PM or so, so get there earlier. After we visited the Nature Center we took the White Path to the Red Path to the Orange Path to get to the Picnic/Playground area. This led us to the other entrance along Jones Road. You can enter on this entrance but parking is alongside the road as opposed to an actual lot as on the Van Nostrand one. Overall this was a great trip. It is perfect for a short daytrip. The trails are very short as our trip was about a 15 minute walk. I believe the longest trail is the Red Path which is only a 1-mile loop. The others are about half of a mile each. All trails are clearly marked. We did not spot many animals except for lots of chipmunks, but we did not go far into the park to the other loops. You can probably expect to spend about 2-3 hours here at most unless you bring food and use the picnic area. read more

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I love this place so much! I come here a lot as I am lucky enough to leave just a few minutes away. The trails are nice, the park is peaceful. I love the stream and pond. They sometimes have maps there but you don't really need them. Park is clean and naturally beautiful. The nature center building is cute and informative. Also in the garden section they have a recycle area and injured birds and owls that have been saved. Josephine the big owl is beautiful. Highly recommend to go here. Its a nice getaway, safe, clean, and peaceful. Get to see lots of beautiful deer! Families of deers at times. Gets a bit packed on weekends but not overly crowded. read more

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Very nice getaway and you can easily go through all the trails in one day. I was going it alone today so this place was a great choice because it's not so secluded and there were enough people on the trails to make me feel comfortable. read more

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The hike was beautiful. It is one long trail that connects water and trees so you get a little bit of both scenery. The park is clean and dog friendly. There are benches and people bbqing but there is a lot of room to move around so it's never overly crowded. read more

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Nice place to hike, but not too much to take in. There were some wildlife like turtles there which was a plus. I think there are a few trails about 1 mile each. It was very clean and trails were maintained well. This is a great place to take a hike and enjoy nature. read more

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Nice easy hike with small kids. Best part was seeing rescued birds up close. People were great at wearing masks and distancing.

This place is a Beautiful blip of nature in the middle of suburbia! I have driven past the picnic area section off Jones Road for years and I was always curious what the trails were like/how far back they actually went. I decided my run needed a change of scenery one day so I went exploring the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. The first thing a passerby notices are the huge signs forbidding dogs: this is actually brilliant! There aren't maps of the trails readily available at the picnic area entrance of the park, so i just let my legs do the work and i followed any trail maker on a whim. Thankfully, i wasn't worried or distracted about the possibility of stepping in anything undesirable! The first orange trail was a tiny loop, which was a great warm up, but i found myself back where i started pretty quickly. Then i looked at one of the stationary maps (they are dirty and weathered and very difficult to read) and saw that the red and white trails appeared to go all the way up, so i decided to keep up the exploration. I am glad i did! The trails are well maintained but can be narrow at times. I ran into several groups of school children, as I was there during a sporadic "sick" day in the spring. I eventually came to the actual Nature Center, nestled towards the top of the park. There was a building there with restrooms and what I would presume to be an educational indoor space and administrative offices. It was a nice place to take a bathroom break and stretch in the sun. Overall, this is a great spot for a morning walk or family hike or a first date. I did not see any other runners, and i know sometimes runners can be annoying for normal-paced people. read more

Such a great place! Walking trails , peaceful and well taken care of. A bird sanctuary where they have 5 raptors they have rescued. Super nice staff read more

Whenever I get a chance, I am either on the hunt for a new restaurant, going to the theatre, or hiking. Flat Rock Brook is a far cry from some of the hikes that I've conquered, but it is a beautiful escape minutes from Fort Lee, NJ offering nature lovers a chance to relax and detox from the everyday hustle and bustle. The park offers seven (7) clearly marked trails approximately 4 miles in total with some hills and steps but mostly flat an slight inclines. Follow the trails to Macfadden's Wetlands and the Mystery Bridge to get beautiful views of snapping turtles, painted turtles, bullfrogs, fish, birds, and deer. Oh, did I mention that you'll find the largest population of chipmunks ever! It's a great place for family fun with a wonderful playground, nature center, and picnic areas. Enjoy! read more

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I've lived in Bergen County for over 40 years and hadn't heard of this nature preserve until I read about through a hiking group on Facebook. What a wonderful hiking experience full of waterfalls, easy hiking trails and marshlands. We walked for about two hours and never got tired of the beauty. A very special place where we hope to return again and again. read more

This is an awesome place for an enthused hiker. There are several beautiful paths that can be followed. The entrance has a nice pond. If you find an area with a actual large flat rock over looking a lake, that is my favorite place to sit and hang out there. I love it here and need to go back once it gets nice out. read more

Glad these places still exists. Great place to come by for a walking or hiking. Wouldn't have known about this place if my friend didn't bring me here. There are trails water deers and just a great place to unwind on a Sunday afternoon. read more

Nice little park hidden in the Englewood/Englewood Cliffs/Fort Lee area. Given the relatively small size of the park, you will find yourself walking the same route most visits. They have slowly been improving the trail quality and removing fallen trees/branches over the years. read more

Take a virtual tour of Englewood's Flat Rock Nature Center at NJUrbanForest.com! http://njurbanforest.com/2011/04/05/englewoods-flat-rock-brook-nature-center/ Plenty of Pictures!! read more

Check out a virtual tour of the Flat Rock Brook Nature Preserve on NJUrbanForest.com! (Includes the new "A Walk in the Woods" Exhibit!) http://njurbanforest.com/2011/04/05/englewoods-flat-rock-brook-nature-center/ Plenty of Pictures!!!! read more

akiva r. we went on a bunch of the trails and they were all great. they were all well taken care of and even though we went right after heavy rain they weren't very muddy. got to see a bunch of deer, chipmunks, and interesting birds. the nature center building was also interesting with some turtles and other items of interest. we went with children of various ages and there was something for everyone here. read more

Great for kids! It could be a little bigger but the environment is diverse and pretty. Different sized trails and various lakes and streams. I in fact swam their in a deeper part of the stream when I was a child hahahha. I recommend this place. read more