When I moved back to New Jersey, there were two triple plus marks in the area. The first being proximity to NYC and the second being the beautiful parks in Essex County.
The South Mountain Recreation Complex brings nature and organized activities together. It has the Turtle Back Zoo, the reservoir loop, mini golf, an indoor ice skating rink and a tree top adventure course. There is also a restaurant beside the reservoir with large windows for winter weather and outdoor seating to allow for year round views.
South Mountain and Eagle Rock reservations offer beautiful trails for hiking. Most trails are at an easy to moderate hike allowing for great options should you be a beginner or planning a group outing with multiple generations. The most popular at South Mountain are the Fairy Trail and Hemlock Falls. Eagle Rock is home to the Essex County September 11th Memorial. On a beautiful, clear evening heading to Eagle Rock to view the New York City skyline from the overlook followed by a cocktail at Highlawn Pavilion is always a good call.
Branch Brook Park is home to more than 2,700 Japanese Cherry Blossom Trees and the annual blooms are celebrating with a festival that includes a 10k run, bicycle race, live music and more. The facilities at the park include a senior citizen center, roller rink and numerous athletic courts. There are often free concerts in the park during warmer seasons. And the Cathedral Basilica is located just on the outskirts of the park.
Verona Park is another stunning place. Its lake is the centerpiece offering fishing, boating, a scenic bridge and of course a boathouse restaurant. The park receives additional funding and support through the Verona Park Conservancy.
Brookdale Park is as close to Central Park as you are going to find in this area. There are wide, open areas with meadows as well as playing fields, dogs parks, picnic areas and a roadway running through it. There are no skyscrapers hovering above the tree line, but it does make a nice connector between Bloomfield and Montclair.
Watsessing Park is a sprawling green space offering three sections through Bloomfield and East Orange. It is a summertime favorite with small children as one feature is a beautifully designed water splash park. My personal favorite area is the butterfly garden. The fields are used for everything from Cricket to Rugby by area sports leagues and the outdoor track is a fantastic place to train for a 5k or a marathon. A relatively new addition to the park is the accessible playground specially designed to allow for children of all needs to enjoy the recreational space. Friends of Watsessing Park is a non-profit associated with the park to provide additional funding and support.
There are many pocket parks and smaller nature preserves and trails throughout Essex County. The park system is a fantastic amenity for a densely populated area in which many residents live in multi-family houses with little or no outdoor space.