As always, we enjoy coming to this park. Spring is a great time to take advantage of the many…read morewalking paths and the expansive grounds. The playground is always a hit with the kids, and there are plenty of open grassy areas for frisbee, kicking a soccer ball, or just spreading out for a picnic. There's also a lot to do here: a splash park (in season), a golf course, bike paths, fishing, tennis, pickleball, and bocce. There are pavilions available for parties, along with grills and picnic tables for a BBQ. One of my favorite spots is the Rose Garden. It wasn't open on this visit (the sign noted an April 15 opening), but peak bloom is in June, and it's worth coming back for. Bottom line: A well-maintained park with something for everyone.

Colonial Patk is pretty . It has a Rose Garden. They must not be in season yet because I didnt see…read moremany. A very tranquil green space to relax and enjoy nature. A nice place . I wish there was more to see.

New Jersey has a lot of excellent hiking spots. It's understandable that most of them are in pretty…read morerural areas with tons of room to roam/explore. So when I found out there was a 5.7-mile hike in the immediate vicinity of Bridgewater/Somerville, I was pretty skeptical. This is a pretty chaotic section of the state, with a lot of major highways interconnecting and a mall and heinous traffic circle thrown in for good measure - it's not the first or 100th place I'd think of for a hike. That remains the case. You can't force the design of a hike, and this is a clear example of a situation where you should have had, say, a mile's worth of trails and left it at that. My chum and I came here on Saturday to take advantage of the unseasonably warm early December weather. It was mostly cloudy throughout the hike, but the temperature steadily rose and the sun was largely out by the end. It had been raining pretty steadily the prior day so we were expecting and encountered a lot of mud and some mild rock hopping, but nothing egregious. Both of us opted for running shoes over hiking/trail shoes; it was a LITTLE rockier than I expected and in hindsight I would have gone with the latter for better support, but I didn't suffer any consequences for the decision. Our trek started at the entrance/parking lot off of Newmans Road (spacious, easy to spot with a pretty clean port-a-potty; there were drops on the seat but that's people being animals and not a reflection on the park) following the red trail running roughly parallel to the Washington Valley Reservoir before crossing Chimney Rock Road and heading up and down the orange trail in a quasi loop that runs alongside the East Branch Reservoir before another brief foray on a road (this one Gilbride Rd) and then doing another loop on the yellow trail that goes up to the Chimney Rock Outlook before circling back to Gilbride, at which point you basically complete the prior orange loop and then head back on the other side of the Washington Valley Reservoir to the parking lot. If that sounds overly complicated, you're right. There are two huge issues that mar this hike for me. One is that whoever designed the trails/blazes for this place had no idea what they were doing. Literally every possible trail and offshoot is painted with a blaze, always the same color as the "main" trail. As such, it's incredibly difficult to follow an official hiking itinerary because every fork in the trail has two choices with the same color blaze. Incredibly foolish and short-sighted. We had to VERY carefully stop each time, look at the map in our book AND double-check the GPS/map on the AllTrails app (which I hate doing) just to make sure we were on the right path. There's no reason to put a blaze on literally any walkable route like that; no idea what they were thinking. The other problem is what I alluded to earlier - this is a populated area with minimal room to hike so you end up by definition having to cross and briefly walk alongside busy roads. Chimney Rock was incredibly busy midday on Saturday, and cars were whizzing by us the entire time (the first section was probably about two minutes long, while the second was five minutes - believe me, it felt longer). I'm stunned people don't get hit there, especially since there's not a lot of room off to the side for pedestrians. If you're at the point where you're brainstorming a hiking trail and you can't avoid having the hikers come into contact with moving vehicles, that's probably a clue to scrap the plans. The big selling point of this hike is Chimney Rock, which was apparently a lookout point for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. That's all well and good, but for the money they spent to put up a protective fence and pave the trail here, they couldn't be bothered to maintain the actual rock, which is covered by broken beer bottle glass. And I'm sure General Washington had a much prettier view back in the day than we did; we were treated to the gorgeous scenery of the Stavola Bound Brook Quarry - crushed stones as far as the eye can see! The best part of the hike by far was the last section on the northern side of the Washington Valley Reservoir, and this is the part I'd actually preserve for walking, etc. It definitely helped that the sun was out at this point, but there was a cute bridge and a lot of bird activity. My chum is an avid birdwatcher and will likely be returning to this part with her camera. We also encountered a fallen tree (picture attached) that was taken down by a beaver. Very cool sighting. Head over to Watchung Reservation if you're in the area and want to commune with nature. You may hear the sounds of Route 78 but at least you won't be crossing that highway as part of your hike.

The Washington Valley State Park parking lot is basically a hidden driveway with a small,…read moreinconspicuous sign that suddenly pops up out of nowhere after you've been driving for a while on Newmans Lane. Recommend using GPS to navigate lest you miss the entrance. The park is also accessible from Vosseller Avenue at Millers Lane, though Google Maps will default to Newmans Lane when you chart a route to "Washington Valley State Park". The Newmans Lane entrance seems to be popular with mountain bicyclists and dog walkers. The highlights of this park are the Washington Valley Reservoir and raptor watching in autumn. Otherwise, the trails are pretty low-key (boring even) which make for some relatively quiet walks, which are only interrupted occasionally by the sound of scurrying chipmunks and teenagers jumping into the reservoir in the summer. As another reviewer noted, some of the more remote parts of the trails are not thoroughly blazed, but you should be able find your way even without trail markers. Be sure to grab a park brochure from the wooden bulletin board at the trailhead if you need help navigating. The brochures are also great for swatting away gnats. The red trail has a lot of rocks/gravel and multiple changes in elevation, so you might want to wear shoes with sturdy soles and firm grip. The reservoir does not have a boat ramp but has various trails and rock formations for shoreline fishing (license required, of course). Random trivia: back in 2015, a convicted sex-offender was sighted here fishing before being arrested. With that being said, remember to curb your dog and be sure to leave before the park officially closes 1/2 an hour after sunset.

I have always love this park and today it felt like the right day to visit despite the cloudy sky!!…read moreI have been here before but it's nothing to visit more than once!! They have picnic tables to eat your lunch or just enjoy the scenery!!

Washington Rock Park is more of a scenic overlook than it is a park and unfortunately you're not…read moregonna find any Hiking Trails or outdoor Picnic Areas with Grills anywhere near here, but it is still a pretty cool Historic New Jersey Landmark plus it was an important part of the Revolutionary War.     In May of 1777 this mountain overlook provided General George Washington's Army a vantage point in order to see the British encampments below which solidified an edge for any future troop engagements.    Long story short, the mountain's sheer height and location made it the perfect observation site and natural defensible fort. Definitely worth checking out if you ever find yourself in this immediate area. Come And Get Your History On!!

I came here with my son this morning after driving by it countless times and kept telling myself I…read morehad to check it out. It's set back from River Road which is nice because as you probably know, it's a busy road being right off 287 with multiple businesses and Rutgers nearby. It's a clean playground with a larger playground set for kids 5+ and a smaller playground set for those younger than that. It's got a few cool features such as a "tree" ladder, a rock boulder to climb, a circular swivel type of thing to hang off of, and an uneven climbing ladder. The ground is made with small wood chips, while not my favorite (I prefer the soft bouncy surface like at Colonial Park in Somerset), but definitely better than pavement/grass/etc. There are swings, slides (one of them looked like a hazard as it dropped pretty steep but thankfully my little guy didn't want to go on it), and a pavilion area with bathrooms as well. There is a large field before the playground which looks like a nice place to throw a frisbee or I'm sure people play some pick up games there. We will definitely be back as it was quiet, clean, and offered a good variety of fun.

Found this park when looking for tracks - this is one of the most quiet parks I've been to. Great…read moreoption if you want a park with plenty of space and not crowded with people. There are tennis courts, fields for baseball, softball & soccer. Just know geese like to chill here and thus there's a lot of geese poop!

Not to be confused with the museum in West Orange, this 171-acre county park is adjacent to both…read moreMiddlesex County College & Raritan Center. Thomas Edison Park has its own parking lot (which has a lot of potholes), but if you're here to use one of the 16 tennis courts, parking in one of the MCC lots and walking through the chain-link fence gate is quicker. From dawn to dusk on weekdays, the gate leading to Rartian Center is open, which allows office employees to take walks in the park during lunchtime. The baseball, softball, and soccer fields are popular with locals on the weekends, as evidenced by the contents of nearby trash cans. The asphalt walkways are popular with the cheeky Canadian geese, who seem to enjoy deliberately defecating where people walk rather than on the grass. Metal benches and bleachers are strewn throughout the park, along with some wooden picnic tables by the parking lot. Interestingly, this park is the only one in Middlesex County designated as a "Model Airplane Field". Since the wide, open, unobstructed fields here lend themselves to being very windy, this park is also a good place to fly kites.

Another Sandy Hook gem to discover. Serene, contemplative, calming. A great spot to recharge your…read moremental batteries.

There's nothing like a early Saturday morning walk at the lake. Such a lovely scenery.read more

Only for few places I've selfishly felt writing about it will make it more popular and I might not…read moreenjoy the place all by myself - this is one among them. Just while searching for beaches in a 30 minute driving radius, we ran into this gem of a park that's so well maintained. They have ample free parking and the walk to the bay is so quick. The bay might not be the best to walk on as sand is relatively less with more gravels and getting down to it from the stairs is little difficult even for well grown adults. This could definitely be wheelchair accessible in a certain way. They also have few picnic enclosures and a memorial to one of their town's fallen soldiers. The walking pavement is neatly laid out for a calm, peaceful and relaxing walk. We went on overcast conditions and had to return to the car just before the rain caught up. Will definitely return here for summers to watch the sunset in this beautiful bay/park.

It's a pretty cool and fun park.,... Have gone there with my girlfriend many times.... Usually…read moredrove by mostly

Live coming here. It is peaceful, calm, such great way to be in nature. There is a little zoo,…read morelake, playground, fields, courts and picnic areas. You can reserve picnic areas for your events like birthday parties, baby showers or any other small gatherings. You can get food trucks with permissions.

Nice trails both for hiking and mountain biking. The best sledding hill in the area during the…read morewinter.

This is great place for morning walk or evening walk. I and my husband spend evening at the park…read morefrom our daily busy schedule. It was very peaceful and relaxing. You can watch sunset between woods. This park has picnic area and barbecue grill. They also have outlet for phone charging and music system which is very cool to have in park. They have few court for playing like tennis and baseball. They have little walking trail and gazebo and also it two playground for kids. And that's not it, they do have changing room and bathroom.

First time mom here! Favorite park so far! This park is stroller friendly! The walking path can fit…read moreup to three moms with strollers, which is important to me because I always walk with a fellow mom! Most parks paths are narrow so we end up, one infront of the other, yelling our conversations over our shoulders. I also like that this park is so spacious and well kept. Picnic tables and grills are amazing. Had I known about this park sooner (I just moved in the area recently), I would have come here from the beginning! Mommy approved!