Super nice 3 mile trail around lake with tall walls from an old marl factory half way around. Water…read moreis super clear and tho' it says no swimming, you may fall off your paddle board sometimes! Has parking w boat launch and a porta potty.

So beautiful. The trails are poorly marked and there aren't any maps really. But it's worth it…read more Just leave plenty of time. Lots of variety

A quiet preserve with a nice, paved path on slight grade. There are more paths through the woods…read moreand alongside the river that runs through the glen. Watch out for coyotes and bears! It's nice to see a refuge like this, and great spot for easy access to a little bit of nature when you need to kick back and dangle your feet in a cool stream..

This is pretty much the quintessential, all-American, small town sports field. Tucked between the…read morelibrary and an elementary school on one side, and an ice cream place (Sparta Dairy), a small family restaurant (Homers), and a pizza place (Pizza Bistro) on the other, this place is awesome. THE place to see and be seen for Sparta youth. There's an 80 yard football field that sees a diminished amount of action on Friday and Saturday nights now that the town has switched leagues for the bigger kids. Bu there are also basketball courts, a synthetic turf softball field, a natural grass softball field, a snack shack, restrooms and a funky parking set up. Cross the small river on the foot bridge to get to the town bandshell, a nice playground, the library and the old Mohawk Avenue school and its fields. Very nice, clean and safe. So suburban you could puke - but you won't.

Good place for different activities. There a playground for kids. And if you are a fan of Pokemon…read morego, there are two poky stops.

Happy Sunday my fellow Adventurers!…read more This is a relatively new hidden gem that I just found. From what I know it was a swimming hole back in 1989 however they closed it down when it was used for a water resource until recently they decided to bring it back to its original roots. (Please fat check this) It has the brand new man made beach complete with what seems to be quarry sand that is course and not like beach sand. Its a beautiful white and lovely when the sun hits its crystalline in texture. The beach itself is small relatively compared to say a lake community beach. There are two lifeguard stations and several rotating guards. The small beach has four areas with noodle ropes in order for you to make sure you are swimming in the right spots. They offer swimming lessons which is really good for the local communities. They also have a platform in the middle which is about 11 feet deep which is reminiscent of the 'Blob' Movie. I half expected that the Blob would come especially if you sneak in after hours. (I don't recommend this lol) You basically pull in and park either on the grass or follow the road to the concession stand. You can purchase a day pass for $10 with no residential requirement for the area. I believe you can purchase an annual badge which I think runs $25-35 per person. You fill out a form that is all legalities and liabilities in order to get the badge or wristband for a day pass. The staff are really helpful and accommodating for any questions you may have. They have very clean porta-potties that are frequently serviced. As well as a concession stand that offered hotdogs, hang burgers, and various other carnival like foods. They sometimes run out of items like sauerkraut with no compensation of any sort which I get they can't help but it's a small area and was open at 11 am, we got there by 12. Always purchase back ups in order to provide for your customers. The hot dogs are pre-grilled and wrapped in aluminum so don't expect a fresh dirty water dog. The overall experience is a really nice one considering you battle tons of traffic going the shore versus the short ten minute drive from Hamburg and $10 fee. It's also really brand new and still working itself out.

The Franklin pond has just reopened the lake to swim and also paddle boat . The reopening was…read moreofficially on June 30,2018 . They had a huge celebration on Franklin Day . They had an official ribbon cutting with the Mayor and city officials. The town has worked extremely hard to get this reopened and also put a lot of work to clean it up and really make a great place to visit and make some great memories at . Besides having the beach and water to swim at they have a nice place to bbq or picnic . Lots of benches to sit and relax . They have fields to play ball and hoops to play basketball . They also have a playground for children. The scenery is beautiful. If you are a photographer lots of great spots to take pictures at . The lake does have a fee to swim . You can get a day pass or season pass . But the rest of the park is free . Franklin Borough is slowly coming back to life . The town officials are working hard to rebuild and create a great town . I give them a thumbs up . Proud to call Franklin Borough my home .

This is a beautiful state park. Waterloo village is an historic village with some beautiful homes…read moreand original structures undergoing restoration. Plenty of parking in the dirt lot. Walk to the back of the lot, past the handicap parking spots, where you will find a map with information about the village buildings. A wheelchair ramp (aka a dirt road) goes around a staircase that leads down from the kiosk and buildings signed as the 'entrance'. A loop road makes a beautiful walk along the Morris Canal. There are some informational signs canal side. A picnic area is on the return side of the loop with a few seating areas over looking the canal. Check the website for days when docents are available if you want more information about the village. There is also a museum and a library - check the website for hours. Whether you come for the history, a beautiful walk, or fishing, Waterloo Village is a worthwhile stop.

It has been a while since I've visited Waterloo Village and was disappointed to see the lack of…read moreimprovement in any of the structures and in some cases, deterioration is winning. Sad

Hurd Park is a Scenic Park located in Dover which features a Veterans of War Memorial Honoring Site…read moreCommemorating and Cherishing Our National and Local Heroes who have payed the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Freedoms. Scenic walking trails and paths which wander throughout this Park lead to clusters of oak trees and cherry blossoms. This is a very popular destination for wedding photos on the bridge or gazebo as well as the entire Park. It's very rare not to see wedding parties taking pictures here especially on weekends. Local Ceremonies are also held at this Park which is the perfect backdrop for any engagement that Officials deem worthy of "Special" Town business.

What a beautiful park! This park is meant for exploring the beautiful scenery! This park is not…read moremeant for climbing on plastic toys. Parking is right up a small dirt road or in the back. My family and &I were waiting for the cherry blossom tress to be in full bloom & Hurd Park did not disappoint! Amazing trees and cute wooden bridges! We also loved the dedication to the army and military. There is a whole area dedicated to them and it is beautifully done. This just adds such a special meaning to the park. The park is very well taken care of. What a memorable place. This park also boast lots of scenery for great pictures for any occasion. My children had a great time running, exploring, reading about the soldiers and resting under the trees.

I did the Stairway to Heaven hike and let me tell you. It was a tough one. I parked in one of the…read morelots that was across the street from Heaven hill farm. If you search up this particular trail and look up its difficultly. It is listed as moderate but to me it was more hard. What made it difficult was the extremely rocky sections which there were a lot of them. The whole hike is pretty much rocky. Not only that there were steep sections during this hike. This hike definitely made me realize that I actually need to invest in proper hiking shoes and not just sneakers as well as hiking sticks. I'm not the only one who thought this hike was difficult. I went with a hiking group and we all thought it was challenging. Once we made it to the top the view was definitely beautiful. We decided to relax for a bit and enjoy the view before heading back down. I came prepared and I enjoyed my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and my iced lemon water. Both were hitting the spot after the hike up. I will admit going down was just as hard because you had to deal with steep terrain. If you aren't careful you can definitely roll an ankle. Overall a challenging hike but the view and then getting my goodies from heaven hill farm was a plus.

Nice trail that has a steep section, but is worth the views. We followed the yellow trail up to the…read moreoverlook and then turned back down at the mailbox shortly after. We visited in mid October and had perfect weather. The trail was moderately busy so I'd suggest going early if you want to be more spaced out from other groups.

I asked a local if there were any good hikes or trails in the area and they recommended the James…read moreLeach boardwalk trail. While boating on the lake, I saw the bridge of the trail and thought it would be worth checking out. At first we didn't see the entrance for the trail, until we saw somebody coming out. The entrance was in the back of this little park. The park has basketball courts, tennis courts, a jungle gym and a Porto-potty in addition to the trail. The trail was gravel, easy to follow and very clean. Because it was named James Leach boardwalk trail, I assumed that it would be a boardwalk. Only the bridge was boarded. It is a nice trail, and if you are a local and would like to take a little hike, then you probably aren't reading my review and it is worthwhile. But if you are visiting and looking to take a hike, I don't think this will satisfy you. The bridge is nice and view to the lake is nice but that's about it.

This review is for the Warbasse Junction- Lafayette, NJ section of the Paulinskill Valley Trail…read more The Parking lot has a solar powered bathroom shack and map of the trail. This area is actually part of a loop of trails- the Paulinskill Valley Trail (PVT), the Sussex Branch Trail (SBT) & Former LNE Trail. The Sussex Branch is located across the street but the third trail (LNE) was not to be found. Too bad the trail is not marked better. We tried to do the loop which would have included all 3 trails but we weren't able to find the LNE trail, so we biked back and forth on the Paulinskill Valley Trail. We started on the eastern side and biked west towards Smartswood Station. The Paulinskill Valley Trail extends 27 miles from Knowlton in Warren County (Smartswood Station) eastward through Blairstown, Frelinghuysen, Hardwick, Stillwater, Fredon, Hampton, and Lafayette, to its eastern terminus at Sparta Junction in Sussex County. So there is plenty more to explore. The Paulinskill Valley Trail is a very nice and shady trail and the surface is mostly compact gravel. It was easy to ride on our hybrid bikes but there were a few sections that had water, so it was a little muddy. We saw other biker, hikers, and horseback riders on our ride. We will return either to this or another section soon to continue exploring.

Three tracks-to-trails efforts converge in this area near Lafayette to form a loop. A fellow hiker…read moreattested to a four mile loop, but the LNE's location is not clear on Google and Manda R. had trouble finding it. We did a shorter out-and-back on the Paulinskill, heading west from Warbasse Junction. The trail was flat and made up of a fine, gravely soil. Since it hasn't accommodated a train since the 1960s, it's pretty well shaded. It cuts through rock formations and local fields. We saw runners, hikers, and horseback riders.

Looking for a half day trip, I think this place fits the bill. The most unique part of this park…read moreis that there is an airport here, you heard that right. It's a mini airport with small planes and even planes with propellers back in the days. It's about a mile hike to the airport Runway, there are a couple of benches next to the runway gate that allow you to watch airplanes take off and go. The river is right next it so there is a river walk type of path. Bountiful parking in the lot. Andover diner is about 10 min away, it's a good trip.

Nice Suunny Sunday morning, so returning to Kittatinny Valley State Park I explored walking trails…read moreand relaxed by the store of the beautiful lake. Talk about peace and serenity. Great time was had... BUT - apparently there is a new custom for dog walkers to leave there little bags of dog lying around. I counted a dozen bags on my short walk. Disgusting and detracts from the experience