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    New Jersey Botanical Garden

    4.3 (20 reviews)

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    Hank C.

    Located in the Ringwood Park, this Botanical Garden focuses on the local flora with a beautiful set of cultivated gardens and wilder areas like up by the bog pond. There's one area that is a private residence, so be careful that you don't accidently step that way as it interrupts the garden. Long path of crabapple trees, statues slightly falling apart with wear. Carry-in, carry-out park. Bathroom here was very clean, though. Charges a minimal fee for entry/parking between Memorial and Labor days. Lots of people taking photographs here - the map is a little off. The MOraine Garden is listed as 6 on the map, 5 on the marker in the garden.

    Mel T.

    Beautiful grounds! We recently did our engagement photo shoot here and there are plenty of photo ops. There are three different lots so if you're looking for the Skylands Manor (where majority of shoots are done), then it's Lot A. I think you need a permit if you're shooting a large group or if you are having your actual wedding there, but our photographer said he has never run into any permit issues with engagement shoots. I believe there are certain times you need to pay for parking, since there is a toll booth but we didn't have to pay in mid-May. There seem to be plenty of trails around so I would love to come back for a hike when we're wearing the proper attire.

    Cynthia M.

    This is a little snap shot of my day at New Jersey Botanical Garden. It was a beautiful day. Sunny but not hot! And not crowded at all. Some flowers didn't bloom yet . And one of the fountains didn't have water in it yet. Will definitely return .

    Parking
    Rashmin D.

    It's a great experience. $ 5 fee, clean, peaceful, green, and great place to spend a day.

    Such a lovely house and beautiful gardens! However, although the volunteers do an amazing job, there's way too much for just volunteers and a handful of gardeners to do! So glad to know that NJ mows the lawn. But, SHAME ON NJ for not providing all the needed funds to better maintain the house and gardens! This is a historic site and a beautiful location. I hope NJ can step up and provide the funds needed. Although the attached photos may not show it, the NJBG is in need of some TLC, not to mention the pump house which needs to be repaired and the roads which need repaving. But, not to dissuade you....Go! It is a lovely place, not to be missed!

    Kelly P.

    This is a wonderful place for kids and if you love a quiet rest. Its very spacious and I enjoy the long walks. They flowers so beautiful and the environment is such a calm and inviting one!! It's simply relaxing that you can fall asleep under the trees! I simply love this place! I highly recommend this place!

    Billy N.

    Really love this place! It has lots of flowers and trails. Nice big picnic grounds and playgrounds for the kids to run around. I would recommend to anyone!! Must visit again soon!

    Visitor center

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    8 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Beautiful nature walk and nice trails. The kids loved it very informative about the wildlife.

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    1 year ago

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    5 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    This was a really nice garden, more like a park. I really liked the buildings and statues.

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    6 years ago

    Very nice and well kept grounds. Enough to see for a couple of hours of walking around and exploring.

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    7 years ago

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    Shepherd Lake

    Shepherd Lake

    3.1
    (13 reviews)
    0.6 mi

    I think this place is a hidden gem. There's not a lot of natural lakes that you can swim in. Of…read morecourse when I went, they were closed for swimming and they even have a dock with boat rentals, which was also closed. I'll be sure to come back to swim in the lake and maybe take a boat around. I don't think the boat is quite big ending for a boat ride that will get my adrenaline flowing, but a canoe or paddle board would be cool. But even closed, this is a great place to go for picnicking or hiking with free parking. There's picnic tables, a jungle gym, bathrooms and I'm sorry I didn't check to see if the showers were working if you wanted to use them. Now, this is important. I started walking around the lake, around the lake wound be going to the left, but the trail went right. I went left, there was a rock wall and I figured I'd follow it and it would bring me back to around the lake. It didn't, I ended up crossing into New York and wandering around Sterling Forest until I eventually found my self on the main road. After walking about 3 more miles, I was actually able to find a trail that lead back to the lake, of course when that trail reached the road for the lake, I walked a mile in the wrong direction, my point is FOLLOW THE TRAIL! The lake is in Ringwood state park and right by the NJ Botanical Gardens and also Skyland Manor.

    The lake itself was beautiful and the kayak, row boat and peddle boat rentals were reasonably…read morepriced. It was a nice excursion on the water except for the constant gun shots from skeet shooting taking place nearby. If you can drown out the noise from that it is a very serene experience. The staff at the boathouse was friendly and helpful.

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    Ramapo Valley County Reservation

    Ramapo Valley County Reservation

    4.6
    (108 reviews)
    4.2 mi

    Nice park for the beginner or more experienced hiker or just someone who wants to have some peace…read moreand quiet outdoors for a couple of hours. The parking lot is big and there is a bathroom, which is appreciated. I took a look at the trail map before I left to find one of a decent length, so check out options, but the trails are well-marked. Once you get past the main train next to the lake, you can find yourself pretty alone except for another occasional hiker, but you can vibe with nature, see a waterfall, and just breathe in the fresh air. Some of the trails are long, but I paced one that was only a couple of miles and still got some nice scenery and a lot of steps in. It's great this park isn't too far from the urban areas of Northern NJ and there are many trail options so you can visit again and experience something new. There's also a sign for trout fishing if that's your thing. Check it out if you want to get away for the day.

    This was my first time and what a blast! What I love about…read morehiking is that there's so many cool and magical places that you can't get to by car. For decades I've driven up 287 and wondered what was in all the hills and mountains and today I finally got to see. I met up with my local plus size hiking group for our last hike of the year and Ramapo was a first for all of us despite being longtime New Jerseyans. We did the Macmillan trail and clocked about 3.5 miles total. We went the long trail around the reservoir and then dipped back down the waterfall trail. Very thankful we did it that way - I think all the stairs on the waterfall trail would have been treacherous given the conditions and a bit demoralizing. Getting the big hills out the way first and enjoying the lake made the waterfall that much sweeter. So many dogs and kind people on the trail. Trash was almost non-existent. Tons of rocks and logs to sit a spell - but at below freezing temps we kept it moving lol. Highlights: -ample parking (bc it was cold) -giant rocks -waterfalls -exposed slabs -gorgeous vistas -the swan!!

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    Lmao the gloves in my pants pocket gave me a dumpy
    Lmao the gloves in my pants pocket gave me a dumpy
    Ramapo Valley County Reservation
    :swoon:

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    Norvin Green State Forest

    Norvin Green State Forest

    4.4
    (29 reviews)
    6.1 mi

    I love the outdoors , but this hike was not my favorite :( it has an absurd amount of insects…read moreand YES I know it's a forest , but it not even well kept when it comes to markers on the trees for hikers . You can easily get lost because there's barely any markers or directions . The view from the summit is ok but even that doesn't have a sign either . They have bathroom signs to bathrooms that don't exist . Parking to a lot that says private lot .. nature is beautiful . But I wouldn't recommend this place , the pictures posted here are the ONLY thing to see . DO NOT RECOMMEND !!! There are other beautiful hiking places ..

    Norvin Green is one of my absolute favorite places in NJ to hike. It has a tremendous variety of…read moretrails with different terrain, difficulty level and unique environments; if the mood strikes you, it's possible to hike up and down a few mountains with gorgeous 360-degree views, or something much easier that involves exploring some of the mines on the eastern side of the forest, closer to the reservoir. There's something for virtually any type of hiker, and because so much of the area is rugged, you're not likely to find too many ignorant young hiking pups wandering aimlessly without water or a map. I usually get out here at least a few times every year, and most recently stopped by with one of my chums two Saturdays ago for an 8.1-mile hike. If you're approaching Norvin Green from 287, I would strongly recommend stopping by the Quick Chek on 511 - the bathroom options are pretty much non-existent in the forest (apart from strategically placed foliage), the employees there are always very pleasant and you have a lot of hiking snack options if you haven't had time to preplan that aspect of the adventure. We did a circuitous route beginning at the Weis parking lot up the green trail, past the natural pool to the kiosk, then up blue to Wyanokie High Point, back down and continuing on the blue trail to Carris Hill, then taking the yellow trail from there down into the wetlands, turning west onto the blue trail, past Chik Falls and over to Otter Hole. At that point, you can either take the green Otter Hole trail back to the kiosk (I think that's about 6 miles), or turn west again in .2 miles onto yellow and up Buck Mountain, meandering along the ridge until you hit the woods road (subjective term) and can follow it back to the green trail/kiosk. Deciding to incorporate Buck Mountain adds about two miles to the trip, so if your haunches aren't up to it, just keep going north on green. You'll still get a workout in, regardless. The climb up to Wyanokie is fairly strenuous. I'm in very good hiking shape and can do it without any breaks if needed, but you're definitely earning the views once you ascend past the main tree line. The view on top has to be one of the top two or three in the state; on a clear day, you can see the NYC skyline (that's true as well for the top of Buck Mountain and several points along the yellow trail before it descends), as well as the mountainous regions to the north and west. It's gorgeous, and the only damper on this particular day was the obvious effects of the seasonal drought - tons of brown foliage and several of the water features were dried up or close to it. Especially down in the wetlands, you're usually hopping over a small stream or two. Not on this day, and Chik Falls was a barely discernable trickle. The Buck Mountain climb is one of the toughest in the area - if you can do it without taking a breather, god bless. It's something like an 800-foot ascent in .1 miles; it doesn't require actual rock scrambling or climbing, but it's probably in the tier right below that. But as with Wyanokie, you're getting amazing views for the sweat expended on the incline, and because it's a nastier section of the forest, there isn't nearly as much foot traffic. It's not unusual to get some solid wildlife sightings up on the ridge. This particular hike certainly had its share of wildlife. We saw either a garter or ribbon snake with Pittsburgh Steelers coloring, a skink, AKA the corgi of lizards, oodles of small frogs (presumably panicking over the lack of water), and met two canine chums, Nala and Argo. A very solid crop, and not out of the ordinary for this area. I couldn't recommend this place more highly. Nearby Wanaque doesn't have a lot of great eating options, so given that you've more than earned your calories from tromping around in the woods, I'd venture a little further south to sup on scrumptiousness.

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    Norvin Green State Forest
    Norvin Green State Forest
    Norvin Green State Forest

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    Ramapo Mountain State Forest

    Ramapo Mountain State Forest

    4.3
    (24 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    A nice area for hiking with castle ruins and a lake and changing elevations. There are some paved…read moreroads but also trails off that path. You can hear the sound of cars on the highway both at the end and beginning of the hikes. Lots of dogs off leash even though there are signs that say to leash all dogs. The parking lot can get crowded later in the afternoon especially in the spring and summer, but there were plenty of spots on a Sunday morning at 9:30.

    My 350th Yelp review is a banger…read more I try to stop by Ramapo at least once a year, usually at the beginning of hiking season; there's a nice 5- or 6-mile route I do in there that helps me build up for the more hardcore hikes later in the year, and it's unusual for me to do this one so late into the actual summer. Boy, is this a different hike in June. Ask the gazillion bears I saw. Yesterday I did about 6 miles, starting at the Ramapo Lake Trailhead parking lot, going on the blue trail to the aforementioned lake and then turning left onto N Shore Drive. I then veered off toward the castle ruins but made a pretty quick right before the path up to said ruins onto Cannonball to Skyline Drive, joining up with the Castle Point Trail back to and through the castle ruins, before heading down back to the lakefront and continuing all the way around the lake until getting back to the blue trail and the parking lot. The official hike in my book says it's 6.6 miles when you include an additional loop to the south of the lake that gets you very close to 287, but i bypassed that today. One of the big issues with this section of Ramapo is the parking situation. I can't tell you how many times I've had to pivot and do a different hike because this Ramapo Lake parking lot was completely full by mid-morning, and the powers that be insist on plastering no parking signs in every other conceivable area going literally miles down Skyline Drive. I get that Skyline is a busy road but there ARE sections where you can theoretically park safely on the shoulder without bothering anyone else - I think there's a compromise here somewhere, but because they don't have one, this lot is usually full by 8:30am on a nice day, and then you have vulture cars just lurking in the middle of the lot for ages waiting for hikers to come back so they can immediately grab the new spot. You can't tell me that's much safer than the alternative. Anyway. The other mild annoyance for me is that you can often hear car traffic, especially in the southern section by 287, but it is what it is. The lake and the castle are the real selling points here, especially the castle. Ruins are one of my all-time favorite hiking kinks, and this adventure has them in droves. The one drawback (again, because of the time of year) is that it gets overgrown with foliage very quickly, so this is a rare instance where I would recommend exploring it in the early spring before you're bushwhacking to get through. Very cool optics though, and a definite must at some point if you're in the area. The wildlife situation? Man. This was one for the books. I usually see one or two bears a year, but I saw that many today, and numerous hikers told me they'd encountered others as well. It was insane and I've never seen anything like it. I got a picture of the biggest one I saw (attached) as I was slowly backing away, and I'd guess this was a 700 pounder? Big boy, and wasn't particularly fazed by my bear horn (though he did ultimately wander off after a few toots on it). Absolutely would not do this hike without a bear horn. I don't even want to ponder what would have happened otherwise. Neither of the bears seemed aggressive but you just never know, and if cubs had been around? Ugh. I encountered a park ranger toward the end of the hike who said it had been insane bear-wise the entire summer and they're just getting more comfortable with humans so again, be careful, use common sense, etc. The trail conditions were pretty decent. Some of the blazes/markers were not the best, and a few sections of Cannonball were one way (meaning you had to keep turning around to confirm the markers because they were only on one side of the trees/poles). As mentioned, the trail section by the castle is overgrown right now but I'm not crazy about advocating for maintenance in an area that by definition should probably be preserved and as authentic as possible. To me there aren't too many significant inclines on the trail (there's one small section very close to the parking lot where you have to take a minute for footing on the rocks, as well as the climb up to the castle if you're going on that trail) but it's definitely rocky and not particularly flat except by the lake. This is one of the better hikes in the area but it's not my absolute favorite - it's crowded and a little too close to civilization. But arguably the bears cancel some of that out. Memorable day.

    Photos
    The lake
    The lake
    Van Slyke castle ruins
    Van Slyke castle ruins
    Ramapo Mountain State Forest

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    Skylands Manor

    Skylands Manor

    3.8
    (98 reviews)
    0.0 mi

    Won a weekend stay via a silent auction. Staff was super…read morekind and accommodating, truly felt like a princess all weekend. Wish we came when it was a bit warmer so we can explore the gardens a bit more

    Absolutely beautiful venue, but there were several aspects that are lacking. I stayed here for two…read morenights as part of a bridal party. My friend got married here, and the wedding was gorgeous and memorable! I'll go into more detail on the feedback. Upon arrival, it's very confusing. It's hard to figure out where to park and where to check-in. There's no visible staff and doors were locked so I had to call multiple times to reach someone who could let us in. There's also a strict curfew so you need to get back BEFORE 10pm or else you can't get into the building. This happened to us when we got back at 10pm from dinner and were all locked out. We had to call and text for an hour before we were able to reach someone. The person let us in, but also told us not to text the number we texted (but it was also ironically the only way we actually reached someone...) Food is hit or miss. On the morning of the wedding, we were all shocked that they were serving the bridal party moldy strawberries. I wish I had taken a photo so I can share it here, but we were in such a hectic busy rush that morning, I didn't get the chance to. The strawberries were not slightly moldy. They were literally COVERED in mold. I don't know how this got past the kitchen. They were literally covered in white fuzzy mold. We obviously didn't eat these. During the cocktail hour, there was decent food. However, during the dinner, the steak was terrible. I couldn't even eat half of it. The steak was supposed to be medium rare but it was over well done and extremely chewy and rubbery. Breakfast was basic and some things were not good (stale pastries). My favorite food was probably the soup at dinner and the oysters during cocktail hour. The seafood tasted fresh! The room I stayed in was beautiful though and I loved it! The only complaint I have about the room is the shower. There was only cold water and it was so hard to take a shower... painfully cold.

    Photos
    Bride laughing during ceremony at Skylands Manor
    Bride laughing during ceremony at Skylands Manor
    Bride laughing in the library at Skylands Manor
    Bride laughing in the library at Skylands Manor
    Cake cutting at Skylands Manor

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    Cake cutting at Skylands Manor

    New Jersey Botanical Garden - parks - Updated June 2026

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