South Mountain Reservation
Regional Park · Millburn, New Jersey
Two thousand one hundred acres of steep wooded ridge in the Watchung Mountains twenty minutes from Manhattan, and part of the same pioneering Essex County system that produced Branch Brook Park — LAID OUT BY THE OLMSTED BROTHERS, who were told to leave it looking wild and largely did. HEMLOCK FALLS DROPS TWENTY-FIVE FEET into a rocky glen and is the destination for most visitors. There are about twenty-seven miles of trail, the Rahway River running through the middle, Turtle Back Rock, and enough gradient that people underestimate it badly on the way back up.
25 Cherry Lane, Millburn, New Jersey, 07041, United States
FREE, with free parking and no permit — an Essex County reservation open daily from dawn to dusk. THE TRAILHEAD CAR PARKS FILL EARLY on fine weekends, particularly at Locust Grove and Tulip Springs, and roadside parking is restricted and ticketed. HEMLOCK FALLS IS REACHED BY ROCKY DESCENDING TRAIL AND EVERY WALK ENDS WITH A CLIMB — boots with grip are needed and the glen ices hard in winter. Dogs are welcome on lead throughout with a dedicated fenced dog park for off-lead running. TURTLE BACK ZOO, THE CODEY ARENA ICE RINK AND THE TREETOP ADVENTURE COURSE are separate operations inside the reservation with their own admissions and hours. No potable water on the trails.
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