Little Ferry: Nature, History and Recreation

Little Ferry brings together nature-related and historical themes with public amenities. Losen Slote Creek Park represents a protected landscape, while Gethsemane Cemetery reflects African American local history and New Jersey’s civil rights history. Little Ferry Free Public Library adds programs, a local history mural, and practical information about its ramp and parking. If you’re looking for hotels for a trip to Little Ferry, these different highlights may play a role in choosing your destination.

Nature and recreation at Losen Slote Creek Park

Losen Slote Creek Park is a protected 28-acre lowland forest and meadow area in Little Ferry. The park has a nature trail and seating areas. This brings together a description of the landscape and two specific park amenities: the trail is a distinct nature feature, while the seating areas offer another place to spend time.

The recreational area includes a two-acre children’s playground, a regulation-size roller hockey rink, and an educational and recreational area with outdoor classrooms. In addition to the nature trail and seating areas, play, roller hockey, and outdoor classrooms are further aspects of the park. The two area figures refer to different things: 28 acres for the protected lowland forest and meadow area, and two acres for the children’s playground. Fishing is also associated with Lakeview Park in Little Ferry.

Local history between the cemetery and the ferry

Gethsemane Cemetery is a one-acre historic African American cemetery owned by the county. It is located west of the Hackensack River in Little Ferry. Because of its significant role in the development of New Jersey’s early civil rights legislation, it was added to the state and national registers of historic places. Its history thus differs from the town’s ferry history: here, a historic cemetery is connected to the state’s early civil rights legislation.

During the colonial period, Little Ferry was the site of an important ferry connection between the regional communities of Bergen and Hackensack. The town’s name comes from the rope-drawn Little Ferry, which crossed the Hackensack River between 1659 and 1826. The details emphasize different aspects of its history: one identifies Bergen and Hackensack as regional communities, while the other names the river and the period when the ferry that gave the town its name operated.

Library: access, programs, and local history

Little Ferry Free Public Library has a wheelchair-accessible ramp beside the entrance, near the parking lot. Street parking and a municipal parking lot across the street are available. The locations of these amenities can be helpful for planning: the ramp is by the entrance, the municipal lot is across from the library, and street parking is also available.

The library offers programs for children of all ages, as well as for adults and seniors. Its offerings therefore serve several age groups. The Little Ferry Local History Mural is also located in the library’s reference room. The local history mural offers a different point of interest from the programs: it focuses on Little Ferry’s history, while the programs serve different age groups.

These themes offer different ways to understand Little Ferry: the park combines lowland forest and meadows with recreational amenities, the cemetery and ferry history each highlight different aspects of the past, and the library adds programs and a local mural.

Discover more destinations: Upper Saddle River, Fair Lawn, Hasbrouck Heights, Garfield, Ridgefield, Elmwood Park, Carlstadt, Saddle River

For the broader travel overview: Bergen.