Love this park and it's hiking trails. One of the trails has fitness stations which provide a great…read moreworkout. Plenty of bbq areas with grills and benches. If you want to have a gathering, they have a spot that you can reserve. Bathrooms are very clean and orderly. Playground has been updated with newer equipment.

This is my favorite park in the area, I absolutely love it. There are legitimate hiking trails, an…read moreexercise trail, several playgrounds, tennis courts, clean bathrooms and best of all, farm animals :). You can catch some wildlife as well. When I discovered it I was shocked I didn't find this gem sooner.

Excellent park for all ages I so recommend me, my cousin, my friends, my sister we all go there. It…read moreis the best park in the town. The spray park is a little boring but they did add a volleyball court. There is a lacrosse court in the field. they recently added a large bathroom/storage room for coaches and maintenance workers This park is the best.

This ground is amazing ! One of the best cricket grounds in NJ .. love the outfield .. superbly…read moregrassed ... ground also has a small water play area. Perfect for kids ! Play area is also good . Well maintained .... Well done.. overall , it's an awesome ground !!

The ongoing pandemic has definitely taken a toll on lot of businesses and public places since a…read moreconsumer mindset to buy anything outside of essential or to visit a public place like a park or beach, has crippled down significantly. Now by living with it has become the new normal, it is commendable on how these businesses and public places continue to remain open and cater to the general public by following the safety standards. We wanted to find some place for a nice evening walk and ran into this in Google maps. It was a 30 minute drive from our place, to get here. The parking had a lot of spaces and wasn't too busy. We took a nice walk by the beach. The beach was closed by fences in a lot of places warning on the high lead content the water would contain. The roads, children play area and the side gardens were well maintained. Most of the people were weary of the pandemic and wore masks, but not everyone. The overall distance would be a good 2 mile walk that was not hard and was enjoyable to do by the bay.

Eww. I was looking for a local spot to spend some time by the beach and found this park on Google…read moremaps. It's beautiful enough when you get here, how can you go wrong with an ocean and good weather. However, the moment I saw the EPA hazard sign that you can see in the photos, it was like finding a hair in a five-star restaurant. Turned me off to this park completely and I just left. They need to clean up their act.

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

This park is a great little local gem. It's definitely not one of the most popular Monmouth county…read moreparks, so it never feels overcrowded, but it is also never deserted. At one time this park was a local ski spot and there are still some remnants of the ski buildings remaining. Part of it was also used by the Marlboro psychiatric hospital, that was located across the street before being demolished. There are some remnants from the pig farm remaining. You can also get to the psychiatric hospital cemetery from the trails. Currently the park is home to a portion of the Henry Hudson trail. There is a climbing wall that is used maybe once a year by the parks department, follow their page for the free event. There is a pool used by local camps. There is also basketball courts and a playground here. The county has recently been removing invasive plants and adding bird houses. In the winter this is a semi-popular local spot to sled (although there is a lot more brush beneath the snow and at the top of the hill than the sledding hill at Holmdel park). If you're in the area this is a great spot to wander around.

Very kid friendly and quiet despite being so close to town…read more If you're looking for a flat, kid/jogging stroller friendly place to walk and enjoy the woods, this would be it.

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.

My girls had a blast here. The splash pad facility is so impressive. There are two huge play areas…read morewith tons of sprinklers, buckets and water tables. One area is a little bit better for smaller kids so it's nice that they have two different options. The best part about the splash pad is the reservation system. You must make a reservation online, and you have a 1.5 hour time slot. Splash pads can get packed on a hot day, so this was a great way to control the crowd. Once your time is up there's an enormous playground right next door. There is so much to see and do that you could easily spend hours here without getting bored. Overall this is a fantastic township recreation area. It's clean and well-maintained, and there are endless play options for kids.

This is one of the cleanest parks I have walked through in Monmouth County. There are trash bins…read moreeverywhere and 2.3 miles of paved trails for you and your family to enjoy. The trails are perfect for walking your furry dogs, in-line skating, cycling, easy walking and pushing strollers. There is also a repair station with a tire pump and tools found near the basketball courts. The Challenger Place has finally finished and is a designed playground for kids who are blind or visually impaired. Their sport courts include tennis and basketball courts, as well as an in-line skating rink. The athletic field is available for rental and may be used for baseball games but not for practices. I have heard they have swimming pools but I personally did not see it. Instead, I saw a spray ground (water-enhanced playground) which was to open in mid-May but given our current situation with the COVID-19 outbreak, this is doubtful for mid-May 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions. Normally, it would open mid-May through early September. I would imagine the busiest time to be there with kids is during the height of summer because summer camps are held there by the Monmouth County Park System and Challenged Youth Sports from Middletown.

This is my family's favorite spot for a leisure stroll. We'd almost always come for a walk when the…read moreweather is nice, especially after a big meal. It allows for all sorts of activities in a compact 71 acre space. This is also a great spot to view the fall foliage. There are 2 entrances. The main entrance is off Pond Rd. There is a side entrance off Robertsville Rd but that parking lot can accommodate only about half a dozen cars. A typical walk is a round trip from between the 2 entrances and you'll rack up about 2 miles. There is an excursion trail around the outside boundaries of the park beginning at the Robertsville entrance. With that you can make up 3 miles which was what I used to do when I was training for the varsity cross-country team. The pond is good for boating and fishing and is stocked with trout every year. The playground is right by the pond and is a great photo spot for your kids. There is a stage and a nice-sized pavilion in front of it. Perfect for a summer concert or play. There are benches and picnic tables throughout. In my most recent visit (Oct'21) I was pleasantly surprised to find that they've added a large number of brand new benches and picnic tables made with recycled material. Also, the parking lot at the main entrance has been redone and doubled the capacity. For these surprises I'm bumping the rating up to 5 stars. PS. If you're into mountain biking, I'll let you in on a local secret. There is a technical course adjacent to the southeast side of the park and you can access it at the end of Brookwood Dr.

Definitely not the best maintained park in the area but still a hidden gem. Tucked away just behind…read morethe hustle and bustle on route 9 lies this picturesque little park. There is something for everyone to enjoy here. Bring your canoes or kayaks. There is a boat launch near the entrance. You can fish here, the lake is stocked with fish. We have yet to catch anything but plants and a snapping turtle. There is a nice trail along the lake to walk or bike. There is a little playground too but this is probably the worst maintained area of the park. There are no bathrooms here but there are porta potties. Every time I've been here when it's warm the ice cream truck has come in here. Other than that there are no concession stands. Just pack a lunch and enjoy at one of the picnic tables.

Great park for kids and adults alike. Great walking trails so many people also bring their furry…read morebabies for a walk. Note: please bring a plastic bag because this doesn't provide one for you. Kids can play in the playgrounds and it's mostly open space. Perfect for team sports to be played. Manalapan Day is held here, where there's fire crackers and a live brass band playing for everyone's entertainment. Easter egg hunts are also held here for little ones. I only minused a star because it could be maintained better but it's not the fault of the park. People walk their dogs but they need to please pick it up. Especially if it's on a trail. Currently as of March 2020, due to COVID-19, the park will be closed indefinitely.

Nice expansive complex but lacking in upkeep. Some of the backstops need to be repaired and there…read morearen't enough bathroom facilities. There is also no concessions unless there is a football game and no food trucks are permitted...only the diesel spewing ice cream truck which stinks up the place, idling in the parking lots. Nice walking/biking, jogging tracks, basketball, 9 baseball fields, and multiple soccer fields.