The area we were directed to park made me initially think I had come to the wrong place (the…read moreinitial path went thru an overgrown but worn path thru the woods that looked like we were headed into more woods). Eventually the path ended to a grassy area with a sign pointing to the mansion where we found the water tower and garden area. The garden was quite nice. Loved seeing the water tower (and appreciated the signage explaining the history and inner workings). Pro tip for newbies like us: You can walk on the road or drive closer to the mansion instead of taking the woodsy path. Oh, also there are NO trashcans at this location (even for doggy doo bags, diapers, etc), so come prepared. No nearby restroom to the garden either.

Beautiful garden that is well maintained. Free admission. Keep place clean! Restroom is far, see…read moreflyer for instructions. Parking is limited. See images and video for reference

Great historic site showcasing Revolutionary War soldier living. The visitor center has an…read moreinformational video, a recreation log cabin space, and a gift shop. The tour is worth sticking around for. It starts at the visitor center and takes a small walk down to the Wick House, where the officers would have encamped. It's the same building redone inside as it was back at the time. It's very informative to learn about just how miserable it was in the winter waiting for battle. The worst snow ever, lack of food/supplies/clothing would have broken many men. But luckily for us, most of the soldiers survived the winter and went on to fight for American Independence. It's worth a couple of hours to visit this historic site. After the visitor center, there are other sites in driving distance or some hiking paths if you just want to enjoy some nature.

I love winter hiking! Met up with the northern NJ chapter of my plus size hiking group for some…read morecrisp winter air and had a blast at Jockey Hollow! I've only been to JH twice before - I brought my dog for the first time in the summer and discovered he doesn't like small wheels - the bikers and strollers and multiple bear sightings quickly made us abandon ship. The next time I drove through with my husband in the early fall to admire the colors. It was really nice to experience it blanketed in snow. The park was reasonably busy but no one was on the interior trails, just the paved pathways, so we had them all to ourselves. We did yellow and orange trails for 2+ mile loop back to the Wick Farm lot. About the Trails: The trails started off dirt packed and then quickly switched to snow over ice. We needed spikes and were glad we all had them. There were a couple of hills along the way but everything doable, some cute bridge crossings. I liked the historical info and replicas as well. Pretty cool to imagine soldiers posted up in the woods 250 years ago. The interior trails are not accessible for mobility devices but the outer loop is paved and runs adjacent to the trails in a few spots. I had a lot of fun - will definitely return!

Lewis Morris Park located on the outskirts of Morristown, NJ is a 2,196 acre park, named after the…read morefirst Governor of New Jersy, Lewis Morris. It is adjacent to Jockey Hollow National Park where you can find a museum, visitor center, and encampment reconstruction of the baracks the Revolutionary War fighters used in the winter of 1780. Lewis Morris Park has a dog park which Oatie loves, baseball and softball diamonds, picnic and BBQ pits, a newly constructed children's playground area, a mountain bike trail and 22.1 miles of hiking trails. Additionally there are fishing and equestrian opportunities. After hours of hiking you can take a dip in Sunrise Lake. Download a trail map online. Admission to the park is free. Sunrise Lake is closed Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday-Friday it is open 12pm-4:30. Admission is $9 adults and children & seniors $7. On the weekends the hours are 11am-6pm. Admission is $13 adults and $11 for children & seniors. Discounts can be found online. The small lake has a Wibit (inflatable obstacle) and a Zoom Floom (water slide) and paddle boats which can keep the kids entertained.

Reviewing Sunrise Lake in this park…read more A gorgeous little piece of paradise to go to that is close to where I live. Cost the same price as some beaches so it's affordable. Came across it when I was googling swimming in parsippany area. Found so many expensive member only places but then this one sealed the deal. They sand, paddle boats, kayaks, slides, and a little obstacle course for kids in the middle of the lake. Life guards on duty, beach volleyball court, barbecue grills, tent, picnic tables, and life jackets. A lot of things and you only pay $7 on weekends. I've came twice both times were on a Sunday. Not over packed were you feel there are people laying right on top of you. More kids and families come after 1pm. So if you are looking for some relaxation come early. The earlier you come the better. Beach is clean, sand is a bit tough because it has rocks mixed in, water is so refreshing. The bottom of the water has seaweed. Food and drinks are allowed and I'm sure no alcohol. Nice place for a party. Definitely going to be my spot for the summer.

The trail is a half mile in length from the kiosk to the end, and is a small loop; one mile total…read more Most of the trail is along the Black River, and has some dips and roots to cross. Things to look for: a beautiful line of cedar trees and two bridges to cross a stream. A pair of swans is often seen in Black River Pond, as well as large turtles. .

We were in the area so decided to try a hike here on a not too cold Winter day…read more The trails are wide and not difficult at all (no real inclines), so this is a great option with kids. It was fairly empty because of Winter. There's not too many interesting landmarks on the way, although you do pass rivers from time to time. The kids were entertained for the most part fortunately (we only hiked for an hour due to the temps, so I'm not sure how long the hike is). Dog friendly + they provide bags to dispose of the waste, which is really nice. Look forward to returning when the weather warms up.

Was there for a short time, but the park is big, green and clean, with playground and sport…read moreactivities to boost.

Central Park of Morris County is located on what was once Greystone Mental Health Facility. After…read moreit was demolished in the early 2000's, it was reconstructed in 2008 as a county park. Today the park is a large athletic complex featuring 2 inline hockey rinks, a 2.5K cross country course. 2 sand vollyball courts, 1 artificial turf softball field, an 18 Hole Disc Golf Course, 4 artificial soccer fields. walking paths through meadows & wooded areas, a kickball field, a playground area designed for 5-12 year olds. The playground area has a lot of different apparatus, rubber ground cover and benches. Fully equiped reatrooms can be found in lot 4. Lastly, the park has a dog park. The dog park has a section for small dogs, 2 sections for large dogs, and short wooded area with a path. The dog park is completely fenced in, well maintained, clean and spacious. There are obstacle courses, as well. The drawback is the grass and dirt areas after wet weather. Additionally, there are no trash containers in the fenced in areas. Bring water for your dog

This review is for the playground only. Fairly large with lots of options and plenty of equipment…read more Swings, slides, ramps, mechanical spinning toys, tables and benches, climbing apparatus, musical instruments, etc. The ground is nice and soft rubber, and there is ample space for parents and siblings including covered benches to protect from the sun. Add a parent I really appreciated that it wasn't too crowded on a Sunday morning and all of the children there were patient and well behaved. Since it's a bit further away we won't be there daily but will certainly make the 20 minute trip again!

This is a very nice center that has a lot of information about the Great Swamp and the area. There…read moreis an entire room of live animals in tanks to see, an exhibit hall that was featuring an art show at the time of our visit, a cute library with kid-friendly seating and books. Don't miss the downstairs, which features an interactive exhibit space about the plants, animals, and history of the Great Swamp. Outside are multiple trailheads. There is a good sized parking lot available.

Superb County Environmental Education Center. Great visitor centers: animals in tanks, a gorgeous…read morenew display about the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge & its history, a library, meeting rooms, balconies with nice views. WONDERFUL array of trails, all very well marked, with lots of ponds, stream crossings, and habitat types. I highly recommend a visit. A short walk from it to the Raptor Trust, too.

Wonderful, peaceful spot. Interesting variety of terrain. Trails are marked surprisingly well.read more

I came here but the building was closed. However they still had some awesome trails available to…read moreexplore. Parking at the trail heads is simple and well marked. I took the Army trail. It was a nice peaceful stroll. There is a little waterfall that sounds so very soothing about 1/2 mile in. The trail is well marked and maintained. They do not allow dogs on the trails, which is odd because I saw a lot of paw prints in the mud. The trails are very quiet and not than many people go on them. I was the only one on the trail that I was on. I think this is one of the better trails in the area because of its maintenance, ease to get to and through there, quietness, and little to no other people on the trail. I will tray and make it back here soon to check out the building and another trail.

Black River County Park is full of awesome hiking trails and picnicking areas. The Black River…read moretributary which runs through the Park is one of my favorite local trout fishing destinations. The NJ State Fish & Game regularly stocks this River and anyone with a valid Fishing License and Trout Stamp can have access to this activity along the River. Disabled Veterans and Kids under 16 are allowed to Fish freely without either. Plenty of excellent sites to check out including the Nathan Cooper Gristmill, Kay Pond, The Black River, and the picturesque Waterfalls. The Mill was built in 1826 and is still in operation as one of the only remaining water powered mills that has been restored in NJ. The Park often has guided tours and you can take home stone ground flour & cornmeal that's made right on site which is pretty cool. Open Wednesday - Sunday 10 till 5 [12 till 5 Sunday]

Black River County Park has a lot going for it. It's in a convenient location right off of a county…read morehighway and is only a few minutes away from downtown Chester aka a solid handful of post-hike meal options. In terms of the actual hike, you have high quality water features, with the Black River itself and its accompanying rapids the notable highlight, along with one of my all-time favorite hike characteristics - ruins. But the positives are slightly tainted by the lack of overall maintenance, which is a shame. I came here for a 6.4-mile hike with one of my chums last Saturday. It was a nasty, humid scorcher of a day and predictably we didn't see too many brave souls out there. It was character building at least. For those familiar with the park, we took the blue trail from the mill, which more or less runs parallel to the river, following it up past the environmental center to Pottersville Road, and then took the red trail on the right down to the Black River, meeting up again with the blue trail. The first part of the hike is in a lower-lying area with a lot of muddy sections, but the park has been pretty accommodating in building a lot of little bridges to get over those parts without getting your feet sopping wet. We're also in the midst of an epic drought, which at least helps for these types of adventures - I've seen it much muddier than this. A significant portion of the trail early on takes place on top of an abandoned railroad bed, and you could see a few ancient wood pilings down the slopes here and there. All of the trail markings here were pretty decent, and you have some pleasant visuals this time of year, including Kay's Pond. Once you start climbing up toward the environmental center, the trail markings and maintenance begin deteriorating. Both of us are experienced hikers, and we had to stop several times to make sure we were actually on the right trail. There's A LOT of offshoots and obvious places where additional markers should have been painted to steer people in the right direction. As a result, we actually missed the correct path to the environmental center and basically walked parallel to it from a distance in the cornfield. Thankfully there's no tree cover there and it was easy to orient ourselves, but it shouldn't have been an issue at all. Shortly thereafter, we ended up on the wrong part of the red trail for about 10 minutes, which we were able to figure out and retrace easily, but again, the lack of helpful trail markers loomed large. Right around this area (probably not a coincidence), we kept encountering random stretches of 50 feet or so where the path was totally overgrown. It wasn't a huge deal, though we definitely had to spend a little extra time checking for ticks, but these weren't huge areas of need - you could get a county worker to come in here with a weed-wacker and take care of these sections pretty quickly. And it's not clear why the rest of the path WAS maintained. Very strange. In terms of difficulty, there are a few stretches where we were a little out of breath, but nothing crazy (we're both in decent cardio shape, so your mileage may vary). I don't want this to come off as a purely negative diatribe, because there WERE positives. The canine chum situation was one. This is usually a very popular pooch spot but the heat kept most of them away. Thankfully we encountered a delightful, freshly sheared poodle named Toffee who was very accommodating (see attached). The wildlife sightings were solid as well. My eagle-eyed chum noticed a praying mantis on the road, and we met up with a nervous garter snake as well. We've both been here before and romped around in Kay's Ruins before - a remarkably solid foundation still remains there right on the river, and it's an awesome photo opportunity. Especially with the foliage in abundance, the optics are great. Additionally, because of the length of the trails it's easy to do a hike here with decent mileage where you get a legit workout. But this park could take some lessons from nearby Hacklebarney when it comes to making this park a little more hospitable for its guests.