We went to Cooper's Pond Park a few weeks ago in the afternoon. A short, nature walk with our…read morefamily, it was serene and scenic. The walking path was good to follow along and it was peaceful for all visitors. We watched as several people were fishing by Cooper's pond. Looked like a great activity to do together or solo. Plenty of great water views at different angles. Bike paths were used along the nature paths too. For a short trip out in nature, this was a beautiful place to go. Ducks and geese were all around, watch out for their poop! Enjoy their presence.

Well kept park, nice place to take a walk, could potentially use for remote work but didn't see…read moretables but plenty of benches. Not sure if museum is actually open but there is one there.

Have really only come over here to enjoy my son's flag football games. I love that they have a…read morerestroom space no porter potty and it presents clean.

Good pool, good friends good tennis courts. Good walking path and park staff…read more They have new tennis courts but need a new pool. it was the best bargain in town, especially for seniors of limited means.

Fantastic large local park with shaded walkway with benches and a large baseball field. It's…read morelocated in the center of a residential area. Came here for the free summer concert that they hold yearly.

The basketball courts at this park are legendary. I've been playing ball here for 20 years now and…read morethe level of competition has always been great. The true ballers come out early on the weekends. There was once a time where park goers could control the lights at the court. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. However, they have upgraded the backboards and rims. Gone are the metal backboards and single rims. Today we play on fiberglass boards with breakaway rims. They just need to add some shade around the courts...

Many people don't know this but New Jersey has alot of parks. Some are real good finds. Flat Rock…read moreBrook 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!

Flat Rock is more rustic than I expected given the location and relative lack of hype. It offers…read moremore 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.

Great park. The new fields are great. Went to a soccer match after a day of rain. The field was…read moreamazing - not wet an soggy. The path that goes around the park is great for walkers and bikers. It's always nice and busy, but not over crowded. The dog park is also very nice. Two sides for big and small dogs. Nice benches and there is water on site for the dogs. Only caution is that on the big dog side their are sticker bushes in the left corner that get stuck in dogs with long fur.

One of our favorite playgrounds in the area! Our son (4yo) LOVES running around this place. B/c…read moreit's an accessible playground the walkways/ramps on the playground structure are extra wide... which means lot of space for kids to run wild. This playground has a range of activities for the kiddos: - slides (varying in size/style) - swings - a ship that rocks back and forth - merry-go-round with space for a wheelchair - "rollercoaster" - monkey bars/structure for climbing - tunnels - musical instruments & sensory activities Plus there's a picnic area with tables and benches throughout. The area is neighborhood based and very friendly -- we've seen doggies going for walks, walking groups, and music in the park classes. Parking is very limited -- I think there may only be 8-10 spots, but plenty of street parking and a speedbump so you can feel comfortable walking w/ your little ones.

The playground can be found behind some houses by following a pathway from the street. There's also…read morea grassy area for baseball or other field sport. This is a clean playground, i.e. there are no weeds or mushrooms growing in the rubber mulch in and around the playing area. It's around 7pm on a Sunday night and there's no one here. There is a sign to remind you to sanitize your hands after using the playground.

No celery is being grown, it's actually a nature preserve. There's no dogs or bikes allowed…read more Sections are fenced off to keep you on the trail. The trail is about a mile and goes around the lake. Some of it is boarded and much of it is in the shade. If it rained recently, than it may be muddy, otherwise sneakers or shoes are fine. It stays level and is good for elderly or kids. There's a lot of benches and a few lookouts as you go around. The preserve is exceptionally clean. I saw one plastic bottle, so I picked it up.

Today it is called the Celery Farm mainly a result of the fact that in 1888 Swiss emigrant Henry J…read more Appert and his wife Ella bought the 107 acre-property and converted the land which was an excavated peat bog into a farm which grew mainly celery and onions. The land has a rich history has seen this parcel of land transition from a glacial land to a peat bog, to a farm and now a nature preserve. The Wolf Clan of the Lenni Lenape gather here to hunt the abundant game in the area. Later in colonial times Founding Father John Fell took possession of the. In the 1080's the borough of Allendale bought the track of land and converted it into a nature preserve. The Celery Farm is an important site for migratory birds and thus bird watchers. There are several areas where birds can be observed including a raised platform overlooking the small lake. There are trails which run about a mile through the preserve. The trails are very wet in spots after any kind of precipitation. Roots and rocks jut up along the path making hiking uncomfortable. When I visited there were numerous hikers who wore masks and observed social distancing. Dogs are not permitted on the trails.

PROS: This place was very clean and had nice landscape. Lake is big and you can kayak on it. The…read morepaths are very clear and easy to hike through CONS: There's no parking available as they closed the car bridge that leads to the parking lot for no reason. There's also no out house OVERALL: It's an easy hike and the lake is a nice area to kayak on, just plan where you're going to hike cause the lot is closed

Absolutely love this spot! Such a great place to come for a small hike when you wanna enjoy a nice…read moreday. I got here nice and early on a Thursday morning and it was pretty empty. Parking is plenty. I can imagine weekends it gets crowded but there's overflow parking on your way in. Gorgeous selection of two trails, I usually do both to get some extra steps in. Altogether doing both trails is about 2.5 miles. Tons of beautiful views all around. Very very dog friendly as well. I always see a few dogs on the trail. They also do kayak rentals during the summer which seems super fun. Great spot!