Garret Mountain Reservation in Hopatcong Hills

An expansive Essex County park. Having several walking trails in addition to walking path along to circular roadway. Scenic overlooks the surround Paterson, and, the distant Manhatten skyline.Picnic areas and basketball courts. Arrive to avoid crowds.

I love to hike this mountain my bf and I did a trail around the entire mountain and it toke about 3 hrs . Nice falls views when in season. Great place for walking and pictures

Its just a great place to go very peaceful has lots of wildlife spend the day and relax have a picnic lots of tables park good dont have to walk to far to the picnic tables just go and have some fun 😀

Didn’t get to the castle but it was still a beautiful walk and a lot bigger than j thought. There was a bike path and fountain in the main section. Everyone was super nice and said hello to me as I walked.

Nice scenery, hiking trails, high school cross country meet location.

Over the years being so close to home its such a beautiful place of peace. But recent years, its now full of people, even my secret spots have now been found by weed smokers, and creeps. 😒 it feels unsafe.Also, Im not sure I like the new renovations, adding more parking.We DONT NEED more people here, we need more Green. Stop destroying trees and land for more parking.. 😠

Great place but humans trashed it as they always do. Plastic bottles, masks, etc. stay classy, human species. Also, suspicious people checking out cars in a parking lot. Be careful and don’t leave anything in your car.

Went on the weekend with Passaic county fair so park was closed to car traffic. Still was able to bus in with the rest of the folks and hike the yellow/white loop around the border of the park. Very cool views near the top by the castle tower. Not too difficult at all but certainly not just a straight gravel path either.

I rated it 3 star only cause I went to see the view from the mountain but next week Im go to the castle area ........I did see a lot of deer ....great view by the way ....I suggest to bring a pair of binoculars 🔭 go see for urself !

There are always a lot of people throughout the park, but it’s here for everyone to share. If you park by Barbers Pond and walk the yellow trail around the perimeter, it will take you about 90 min of you stop to take pictures of deer, at the lookout tower, or at the other lookouts.

Wow beautiful place to visit

Beautiful space and clean facilities. Highly recommended for a fun day out for a family get together or a group of friends! Prime picnic spots should be reserved ahead of time to secure your spot especially on the weekends.

This is the first summer on the mountain! If you enjoy hiking, biking, walking, running and picnicking then you will love this mountain!

Absolutely massive amounts of space for picnics, parking and playing and running around. Police presence is pretty constant so I believe its a safe place for families. Theres an equestrian training center, a lake for fishing, sort of. Mostly perch and turtles available, but signs on trees state that trout are in the waters. multiple hiking trails with difficulty levels well defined. There are ice cream trucks that arrive pretty regularly as well. And the best part is the view atop the mountain.Favorite place to go.

Nice park, you can make trails through the woods. Nice to take the dogs. The park is going to get renovated soon. Also need to add more trash cans. I walked for a while carrying my dogs poop bags until I found a trash can to throw them out.

one fine evening we decided to go to Garret Mountain Reservation which was in Passaic County, NJ. Most of Garrett Mountain Reservation is located in Woodland Park but Garrett Mountain Reservation also extends to both the cities of Paterson and Clifton.It was summer, so trees obstructed the NYC skyline view, but NJ offers a much better view of the NYC skyline (Hoboken, Newport, etc..). There are many things which this park offers such as Grass fields and picnic areas - There were 100s of families enjoying, BBQing, and kids playing in a lush green meadowWalking and Hiking Trails (even paved trails- Easy levelBasketball courts, picnic areasBarbour’s Pond is a state stocked with fish for anglersAnother famous attraction is- Lambert Tower, which is located within the reservation, and was built by the silk-magnate Lambert family, who lived in nearby Lambert Castle. The 70-foot tall observation tower, which sits atop a cliff overlooking the surrounding area, was built in 1896Fact: it is on several National Natural Landmarks in New Jersey.

I have to explore more of it to give it 5 stars. Plenty of space for a private picnic. Room to race my rcs and fly my drone. Really nice views. Deer dont seem to be scared and walk close by

My first time visiting the large park. Many different trails and parking lot spots. Nice place to walk and relax. Very clean and well maintained. Bring tick repellent they are getting around protect your dogs and yourself. Lambert Caste is under renovation at this time. Beautiful views looking at NY skyline. Loved it. 👍

Garret Mountain Reservation is my favorite spot in New Jersey if you’re looking for a good view of the New York skyline. The park itself has a ton of space, plenty of trails, and a lot of parking. Overall, it’s one of my favorite places to go if I’m looking for a solid relaxing walk and some good views. It can get a bit busy depending upon when you go, but it’s never usually overcrowded.

If you are looking for a quick hike this is the place to go. It is about 2-3 miles depending on the route. It is beautiful, especially in the fall. You might encounter some wildlife as well. Nothing dangerous though.

A really lovely place to visit. Wonderful views, plenty of parking and I suspect there is a lot to do in the warmer weather. We saw picnicking areas and lots of hiking trails. Ive taken off one star because they really are not handicapped accessible but you can bring your dog so I put the star back in :-)

Many trees shed their leaves by the time we visited this year (Nov 11), but those that still remain are absolutely lovely and beautiful! We had a great time walking along the lake and enjoyed our day at this park. The yellow trail is kid friendly.

Ive lived in NJ my entire life and had no clue about this place! Clean, well lit, several marked trails and the views and wildlife are priceless.

Really a beautiful place worth visiting more than once. Never realized that such a serene place exists between major roads- Route 80, route 46, route 3 to name a few! One can escape to find tranquility, peace and fun.Here you can choose a trail and walk simultaneously be with nature, you can play with children, you can do photo-shoot, you can do picnic, do parties, cycling or just be yourself and meditate 😊

Garrett mountain reservations, best place in the Passaic county Safe place for hiking, walking, and family picnics ,plenty parking spaces, plenty Family, picnics area.Soccer, and veleybol activities you you can make,or you can organize Festivals for Community, betuful Nature, Lot off different birds,,no noise, fresh air, area control by the Passaic county Sharif department.park belongs to Passaic county park department.

A beautiful park in the outskirts of a major metropolis. Sites include Lambert Castle and Lambert Tower. Great for relaxing, cycling, short hikes and running.

Great park with a lot of open space and great views of Patterson. You can find a nice place to relax. Make sure to take some of the trails as you can then see some good views of Manhattan.

It is an excellent place to have fun with your family.Pro:-Nice and long distance to walk or run.-Perfect place to have a picnic.-Perfect area for a kite. I enjoy.-Challenging Bike route :)Con:-So Loud ice-cream trucks. Something more than one ice cream trunk making noise.-Unleash dogs-People running half-naked.

Such a beautiful park to enjoy your day! You see people having a barbecue. Taking a walk. And enjoyin the miracle of nature ❤️

Garret Mountain Reservation is a fantastic outdoor area with trails, picnic pavilions, open fields, beautiful views, and much more.Parking is easy with plenty of spots across several lots scattered across the reservations. They are all connected by a one way loop that goes around the reservations. The loop also acts as a sort of track for runners/walkers as two smaller lanes are off limits to cars.The trails are not difficult and patched with small rocks. You never really feel like you are deep in the woods, so if you’re looking for something more adventurous this might not be for you. One trail loops around a pond. Most of the trails lead to the Lambert Tower which has beautiful views of North NJ.The picnic areas and open fields are also a great place to get together and eat. On a Sunday, there were plenty of groups out with grills. However, there was still plenty of space. There is also one basketball court that was pretty busy.Overall, this is a great place to spend the day or just go for a walk/run. Its clean and spacious with enough nature to make you feel like you’re away from civilization.

Great place to relax. Excellent for running, hiking, and great for the kids. It has some challenging trails for those that enjoy riding bicycles. It also has the best view of New York.

60 plus years in northern New Jersey.. and this is my first time here? KICK ME!Instead of just repeating all the other reviews about the beauty and serenity of this place, Id rather say this. To all the staff, landscapers, maintenance crew,.. yes, and even management, a job well done. Thank you!

Garret Mountain has a one way traffic that forces you to see what it has to offer as you drive through the road and make the loop. There is an equestrian facility that boards horses and they offer riding lessons and $10 pony rides. They take cash or credit (small fee). There is an open field specifically designated to fly drones. There is another field for soccer, picnics, and basketball. There are different locations that offer beautiful views of the NU skyline and neighboring cities on a clear day. Lambert Tower is along the trails as well. There are people who either walk the trails or along the road and speed bumps to help slow down traffic for pedestrian safety. This mountain makes you forget that you are in a highly populated area. The trails are easy for children to manage with something for everyone.

Wonderful park to visit anytime of the year. There are so many things to do. It is impossible to tire from visiting. picnicking, walking, skateboard, site seeing @ the overlook, enjoy the trails, even see the landmarks throughout the park. And in the winter you can snowboard. :)There is a nice view to overlook the town. Especially at night.

Never knew such a beautiful place existed 6 miles away from my home, credit goes to country authority for devloping and maintaining the place , this place has beautiful lake watch tower, basketball ground , hiking trails, beautiful city views , there are some slopes that can be used for skieng as well

Nice place. Some good views from the top. Pub bathroom is not available due to covid.

What a beautiful place to take a long walk and enjoy the foliage and lake. The trail takes you around the lake. There’s a small parking area on the main road and another one by the picnic area. The trail’s path is very wide and comfortable to walk on. There are a few hidden paths. Make sure to explore those for a close encounter with nature. I would definitely visit again.

I always see deer when I come here it’s great. The paved loop is great for walking/running/biking. The inner trails are small, but pleasant and never crowded.

Great place for short hike. Trail is easy enough to manage with toddlers.. Big lawn area provides plenty space to have fun with adequate social distancing. Also there are lot of spots for barbecue. Boat house in the park has clean rest rooms.

Garrett mountainWoodland park njVery large park with many areas to visit many people use this park for exercise and walking but can also be used as a place just to see the views and various sites with your family or friends.Its a beautiful place but one downside is theres a lot of litter and garbage etc. in the beautiful nature surroundings which kind of puts a damper on your visit especially in the pond they have stocked with fish that has beautiful but theres many pieces of garbage floating in the same pond. Theres a beautiful view in one spot in the park that you can see route 80 and all of Pattison New Jersey its a very beautiful view and at least everyone in New Jersey should at least visited this place once.

Awesome easy hiking trail along the mountain that offers a beautiful view.Again, sad to see so much garbage along the way.I wish people would and could be a bit more caring and not leave trash along the trail

Garret Mountain is easy to travel to and offers a few different settings from outlook over the city to the mountains to trails through woods and by a lake or English style castle. Plenty of parking, trails are well marked and police presence is seen which are all good signs. I do agree with other comments that most people were not wearing masks when I visited today and it can be crowd in some areas. Still nice for a quick visit and it was easy to keep 6ft distanace

Quite big and spread out. Variety of locations to suit your preferences such as from a vantage point summit to large picnic grounds to hiking trail going down to a creek and so on. The landscape changes quite a few times while you drive around the loop. Quite refreshing.

Beautiful place. The Yellow trail is 2.3 miles, white trail is a bit less. Great for pets, flying kites, BBQs. Picnic parties above 10 need permits.

Garret Mountain is a very beautiful, serene and calming place to exercise by running on the trails that are here. It also has different locations within it like picnic areas, Lambert Tower, and many more! Just take a moment out of your busy schedule to refresh, renew and restore yourself! Trust me you will love it! These pictures are from the auto overlook at Garret Mountain.

I love this place so much! My cross country team comes by once or twice every season to run, and I love it so much! The view is always so beautiful and the course is rather serene (if you ignore the horse feces). If I didnt live over an hour away, I would definitely stop by more often just for fun. (Also, that castle structure is very fun!! Definitely check it out if you have a chance!)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Great starter trails with great nature views and appropriate markers to follow. Many people don’t hike in fear of getting lost, but the markers for the beginner trail was very simple to follow to and from. We all had a blast. We are going back later this summer to explore the novice trails and we can’t wait. Definitely pack some waters or a camel back because you will get thirsty.

I love this place! Many of my friends knew this park what they did not know is that it has 15 picnic areas, I chose Pat Di Ianni Boathouse to celebrate the graduation and my son wanted a park so that he will play ball with his friends and they all loved each other This place is really beautiful! I recommend it 100% its price is reasonable!

I love this park. The view of Paterson is great at the top of the hill. You even see it in your car. The park is clean. You can hike or go fishing if you like. There is a castle there. Sometimes you can see deers hopping around or eating grass. You can also have barbeque(tables and grills), play basketball(basketball court), and other outdoor activities.

Very nice staff, has a lot of parking place. Beautiful picnic facilities all around with natural life and lovely view. Perfect place to relax and spend time with family. Great place to catch some fresh air and get your on. Great place to walk, hike, bike and bring the dog. And more...