I gotta tell you... I love this little park…read more First visit - okay, I dug it. Second visit - more time to explore and continually found new and interesting reasons to enjoy Essex County's seventh-largest park (I totally stole that tidbit from Wikipedia). Third visit - okay, okay - I'm officially smitten! A (small-ish) pond complete with locals fishing? Tennis and pickleball courts? Horseshoe pits? Bocce court? Paved trails (both in the main/open portion of the park as well as tucked-away under dense forest)? Baseball field (as a bonus - a group of kids always practicing cricket off to the side)? A tiny little spot consisting of parallel bars and (uneven) pull-up bars - for aspiring gymnasts or American Ninja contestants? An aqueduct (complete with a handful of little bridges to cross over) running throughout the entire park? A damn fine playground (with interesting and in-good-shape equipment) for kids (from 2 to 12 years old)? Plenty of tables (old-school picnic style as well as more modern/sleek)? Those clunky-but-sturdy BBQ grills that are drilled into the ground for you to use but can't take home with you? Rock cairns to find and admire while walking through along the tree-covered trail? A few strategically-placed water fountains to rehydrate and cool down? Plenty of Porta-Potties and trash receptacles (including freebie baggies so you can scoop up your pet's droppings)? A random deer (or doe) sighting in or near the park every single time I've visited? Yes! A resounding "yes!" to all of it.

Tiny county park in a residential area, so no trails. You can walk around the park in about 15…read moreminutes. Small stocked pond with ice skating when safe and allowed, children's swings and slide and a small tennis court. Benches all around. Well kept by the county. Parking on the street and a small lot with a few handicapped spaces. Bicycling not allowed due the size of the park and amount of people. Playing field up and behind the park area. Events held occasionally.

I visited this trail for the first time and was actually quite surprised at how good of a hike it…read morewas. I haven't heard much about it so I didn't expect much. Upon arrival there is a small parking lot, with a kiosk and the usual map of the trails. I used primarily the red and yellow trails to reach the top of the mountain. The view is nice, with a little bit of obstruction due to the trees. On a clear day you can easily see New York City. At the top of the mountain there is also a star with lights on it that I believe was donated. In addition to this, there is a large rock with the American flag painted on it. These are two little interesting things to see in addition to the view. The hike itself was fairly easy, with one steep section before reaching the top. I would say it is definitely a good hike if you live nearby and want to go for a hike without taking a longer drive. The one negative, is that in some areas the trails are not properly marked and can be a little confusing. This doesn't seem to be too big of an issue because it seems they all end meeting back together at some point.

In high school we used to have keg parties on top of the mountain. In college fraternities and…read moresororities would have events in these woods too. You can follow the trails or there's other ways up the mountain. You can ride your mountain to the top of the mountain or through to the Franklin lakes preserve but there's a lot of area where trees are down or there is too much water. There's a great view and plenty of space once you get to the top of the mountain. You can find "buttermilk falls" by the North Haledon entrance to the college.

Best park I've ever seen. Wish there was more covered seating for eating and more swings but it's a…read moregreat place with a lot to do for the kids.

Amazing park!…read more However, there are no bathrooms nearby. Just portapotties. And NO CHANGING TABLES!!!!

5/15/26 (Update) Laurelwood Arboretum is even more beautiful than ever…read more The Sensory Garden has been added. A definite "must see and feel" garden! Beautiful fuchsia colored Rhododendron grow throughout the gardens. Have noticed that there's a lot of fencing around the newer flora and plants. Most likely to keep the deer away from the plants. Many new benches have been added throughout the Arboretum. They're beautifully crafted from trees. Inside the welcome center there was nature photography on sale. Best to wear comfortable shoes. The walking area is somewhat hilly. The Arboretum is free. Donations are always welcome. The Arboretum does have two parking areas.

Love this place So nice and well maintained…read moreGood place to bring dog and or kids and spend some time outside

Imagine a dog park covered entirely in fish tank gravel, with such soft footing that neither dog…read morenor human can walk comfortably, let alone run. This is easily the worst dog park in Passaic County, entirely due to the ground surface. Who came up with this idea? It's a nice park. It's conveniently located. It has tremendous potential! There are nice facilities, umbrellas for sun shelter, a doggie water fountain, etc. But the dogs just cannot run around comfortably on gravel. This is just parks planning gone wrong, likely conceived by someone who doesn't have dogs.

*Playground review!*…read more This one is a good one, y'all. It's definitely on the newer side and is a decent size for a bunch of kids to run & play. The brightly colored slides, tunnels, swings can be seen from Black Oak Ridge Rd. so it's hard to avoid when cruising the nighborhood -- I speak from experience! :-P There's a couple different structures -- one for smaller kids (1-3yo, I think) and one for older/bigger kids. My son has a blast climbing up the tunnels and down the slides every time we visit this playground. Note: the parking lot is a good size... but fills up quickly as it shares the lot w/ the dog park... and there's really no street parking along the park as it's a pretty active intersection.

I wasn't able to find many good playgrounds in and around Lincoln Park. Yes, there's a small…read moreplayground nearby, but it doesn't have swings and only has one slide. One day while coming back from Costco, we noticed Centennial Park. It is mainly a children's playground, with a small gravel walking path and a couple of benches for adults. When I searched online, I found very few photos of the park. So during our visit, we clicked around 20 pictures to help others get a better idea of what the playground looks like. My daughter is 15 months old, and she had a great time on the swings. I think kids between 2 and 10 years old would enjoy this place even more. There are multiple slides, climbing structures, a merry-go-round, and lots of other play equipment to keep them busy. There is a gravel parking area, so parking wasn't an issue. The only downside is that the park is tucked away a little inside the neighborhood instead of being on the main road. That may be why it's usually less crowded than you would expect. Overall, it's a nice neighborhood playground and a great place to bring young kids for an hour or two.

What a great hidden gem! A large, beautiful playground for toddlers and older kids easily…read moreaccessible from Wayne, Lincoln Park, Fairfield and North Caldwell. Daughter had a blast as we decided to take advantage of one of the last warm days of the year. It has structures for smaller children as well as larger children, and is beautifully decorated with large flowers that can provide shade form the hot sun on a summer day. I was informed by another mom here that this playground was recently renovated. There's also a large grass area and a small trail behind the playground. Tons of space and options. The frog and bear structures at the entrance are actually small trash cans- both a good and bad idea as it's aesthetically pleasing, however not an obvious trash can and leading young kids like my daughter to try to play with them (it took a few minutes for even me to realize they were trash cans). Minus one star as the baby swings and regular swings are on opposite ends of the playground, making it impossible to push both your older child and toddler child at the same time.

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!

I don't think this is a public lake like Lake Parsippany…read more At Lake Parsippany, you can walk around the lake, enjoy the scenery, and stop at different viewpoints. But this lake seems to be accessible only to members, so you can't really go inside unless you have access. There is, however, a small park-like area along the roadside with about 5-6 benches where you can sit and enjoy the lake view. It's a peaceful little spot if you just want to relax for a while. There's also a gravel parking area nearby, making it easy to pull over, sit on one of the benches, and admire the view. While you can't explore the lake itself, it's still a nice place for a quick stop and some quiet time.

All the fish are dead. Don't come here, pigeons come out of nowhere, vibes are just bad. Algae…read moreblooms all the time. Ticks everywhere; coyote almost ate me alive, Lincoln Park Lake is not it.

Cedar grove community park, is about 6 acres of awesomeness!!!! Lol the amenities in this park…read moreinclude a public pool with changing areas and diving boards, deep end and kiddie pool. A beautifully landscaped garden and ball field. The baseball field has 2 sets of 60+ person sitting bleachers, well lit night lights and pitchers pen. Plenty of park benches and trash cans for having bday parties. Also Built in BBQ pits. Parking is free and very conveniently accessible with over 120 spots, with RV parking. Public bathrooms are available and opened and cleaned daily. There are 2 massive playgrounds available for all ages. One is located next to the park benches and BBQ puts and the other right behind the ball field. My daughter and I had an amazing time at cedar grove community park. Very clean and safe atmosphere. YES!!!! It's open to the public. Reviews Yelp!!!! David $ Erica.

Another great playground in the area! I've brought our four year old here a few times and it's…read morebeen a hit each and every time. The biggest draw: they have FIVE slides! Truth be told the majority of the playground structure is just slides.. but if your kid loves slides then this is the playground to try! There's a bunch of fun ways to get up to the slides too -- a couple ladders, a "rock wall", steps, etc. Rumana is definitely on the newer side with rubber mulch and brightly colored heavy duty plastic parts/pieces. The playground has a good sized yard so great for kids running around too. It is enclosed by a fence but it's not lockable... so if you have littles then you'll want to keep a eye on them a bit more closely so they don't wander off. The small basketball court, merry go round and swings are all a bonus. The swings are designed for older kids though... no baby or toddler seats. Parking is easy -- there's no parking lot but the street in front of the playground indents a little bit so there's plenty of room for a line of cars to the playground and for other cars to drive down the street.