Essex: Parks, Trails and Culture

Explore Essex through a range of interests, from expansive parkland and wooded trails to gardens, art and sites that tell the story of technological history. When planning a hotel stay, you can first decide whether nature, culture or particular leisure activities will be the focus of your trip. The Essex County Park System includes more than 6,000 acres of open space.

Parks, Trails and Scenic Views

Branch Brook Park is the first county park in the United States. Sections of the 36-mile Lenape Trail run through Branch Brook Park and the South Mountain Reservation. The trail connects 18 parks and 11 municipalities in Essex County. At Branch Brook Park, the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival 2026 is a spring tradition that has been celebrated for 50 years. Check the specific festival dates when planning your visit.

The South Mountain Reservation covers 2,112 acres and is a nature reserve within the Essex County Park System. Hemlock Falls features a 25-foot waterfall. From the eastern ridge of the reservation, 550 feet above the township of Millburn, you can see New York, Elizabeth, Union, Staten Island and Newark. The waterfall, wooded landscape and distant views give the area a variety of highlights.

Eagle Rock Reservation is a park of more than 400 acres along the ridge of the Watchung Mountains. Hiking trails and footpaths wind through wooded areas. The Essex County 9/11 Memorial is at the main entrance. The nearly three-mile West Essex Trail offers a different kind of historic route: it follows the former rail bed of the Caldwell Branch of the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. West Essex Reservation is in the western part of Essex County and extends into Livingston, Roseland, West Caldwell and Fairfield.

The trails at the Essex County Environmental Center are open from morning until evening. Check this access information again before your visit.

Gardens and Historic Sites

The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens feature more than 14,000 irises in approximately 3,000 varieties. At Brookdale Park, the rose garden was established on June 11, 1959, with a donation of 750 rose bushes from the North Jersey Rose Society; it remains a major attraction.

Riker Hill Art Park is in Livingston on the site of a former U.S. missile-tracking base. The former military facilities there were converted into 38 artist studios. The Kip’s Castle estate covers eleven acres on First Mountain and is located in the townships of Montclair and Verona. The grounds of Kip’s Castle Park are open seven days a week from morning until evening; the interior of Kip’s Castle is currently closed to the public. Check current access to the interior again before your visit.

Crane House & Historic YWCA is open for public tours without advance reservations on the third Saturday of every month. Check the specific date before traveling. Glenmont refers both to an estate and to the mansion that Thomas and Mina Edison used as their primary residence from 1886 to 1947. The Glenmont Tour is a guided interior tour of Glenmont.

At Thomas Edison National Historical Park, visitors can enter a full-scale replica of Edison’s film studio, “Black Maria.” The Main Laboratory Building (Building 5) includes Edison’s library, machine shops, music room and other exhibits.

Wildlife, Museums and Activities

Turtle Back Zoo features more than 100 species of native and exotic animals from five continents. Its miniature train departs from Turtle Back Junction and travels through the South Mountain Reservation. The Family Learning Lab at the Montclair Art Museum features activity prompts, craft materials and books.

The Newark Museum of Art cares for a collection of more than 300,000 works of art and artifacts related to science and natural history. Another cultural attraction is the Dreyfuss Planetarium: it opened in 1954 and is considered New Jersey’s first planetarium.

The Francis A. Byrne Golf Course has been open since 1928 and was designed by golf architect Seth Raynor. At just under 7,000 yards, the course gives you a clear sense of the length of a round. Public golfers have the rare opportunity to play here on a course from the Golden Age of golf course design.

The Essex County Codey Arena offers family activities year-round, including stick-and-puck sessions and skating lessons for beginners. Session times may change; check the current schedule when planning your visit.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: City of Orange, East Orange, Millburn, Newark, Livingston, Fairfield, Irvington, Roseland, Montclair, West Orange, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Maplewood.

For the broader travel overview: New Jersey.