Discover Essex: Nature, Trails and Culture

Essex combines expansive parklands, distinctive trails and diverse cultural destinations. The Essex County Park System encompasses more than 6,000 acres of open space. When choosing your vacation rental, it is therefore worth first determining your preferred travel focus: nature experiences, family activities, history, art or golf lead to different daily itineraries.

Parks, Trails and Distinctive Landscapes

Branch Brook Park is the first county park in the United States. A section of the 36-mile-long Lenape Trail runs through it, connecting 18 parks and 11 municipalities in Essex County. South Mountain Reservation is also part of the Essex County Park System. The nature preserve covers 2,112 acres and is also traversed by the Lenape Trail.

South Mountain Reservation is home to a 25-foot-high waterfall at Hemlock Falls. From the eastern ridge, 550 feet above Millburn, New York, Elizabeth, Union, Staten Island and Newark can be seen. Those who enjoy combining longer trails with distinctive landscape landmarks will find two different starting points for planning a day in the Lenape Trail and South Mountain Reservation.

The more than 400-acre Eagle Rock Reservation lies along the ridge of the Watchung Mountains. Hiking trails and footpaths lead through wooded areas. The Essex County 9/11 Memorial is located at the main entrance. Another historically significant route is the West Essex Trail: it follows just under three miles of the former rail bed of the Caldwell Branch of the former Erie-Lackawanna Railroad.

Smaller nature destinations also offer distinctive highlights. The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens contain more than 14,000 irises in approximately 3,000 varieties. The paths at the Essex County Environmental Center are open from morning until evening. Kip’s Castle’s grounds cover eleven acres on First Mountain and lie 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.

Family Experiences and Active Days

Turtle Back Zoo showcases more than 100 species of native and exotic animals from five continents. The miniature train departs from Turtle Back Junction and travels through South Mountain Reservation. At the Montclair Art Museum, the Family Learning Lab uses activity prompts, craft materials and books. Essex County Codey Arena offers family activities year-round, such as stick-and-puck and skating lessons for beginners.

In Brookdale Park, the rose garden commemorates its establishment on June 11, 1959, when the North Jersey Rose Society donated 750 rose bushes. The garden remains an important attraction to this day. In 2026, the Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival will also have existed for 50 years as a spring tradition in Branch Brook Park.

History, Art and Culture

Riker Hill Art Park is located on the grounds of a former U.S. missile-tracking base in Livingston. The former military facilities in the Art Park were converted into 38 artist studios. The Newark Museum of Art cares for more than 300,000 works of art and artifacts related to science and natural history. The museum also includes the Dreyfuss Planetarium, opened in 1954 and described as New Jersey’s first planetarium.

Glenmont refers both to the 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. The Thomas Edison National Historical Park also includes a full-scale replica of Edison’s film studio, “Black Maria,” which visitors can enter. The Main Laboratory Building, Building 5, contains Edison’s library, machine shops, music room and additional exhibitions.

For golfers, the Francis A. Byrne Golf Course offers its own historical focus. The course has existed since 1928, was designed by Seth Raynor and is just under 7,000 yards long. Public golfers have the rare opportunity to play on a course from the Golden Age of golf course design.

Plan Your Visit and Choose Suitable Places

Some destinations have clearly described visiting conditions: Crane House & Historic YWCA is open for public tours without advance registration on the third Saturday of every month. At Kip’s Castle, by contrast, a distinction must be made between the accessible park grounds and the currently closed interior. When choosing a vacation rental in Essex, you can therefore tailor your stay according to whether you primarily want to plan trails and nature reserves, family activities or guided cultural destinations.

West Essex Reservation lies in the western part of Essex County and borders Roseland, West Caldwell and Fairfield. Mills Reservation is a 157.15-acre county park in Cedar Grove and Montclair. For further geographic orientation, you can also access East Orange, Irvington, West Orange, Bloomfield, Maplewood and City of Orange. This allows you to combine your search for a vacation rental with the experiences that offer the greatest value for your trip.

For the broader travel overview: New Jersey.