Scotch Plains: Golf, Nature and History

Scotch Plains offers several distinct reasons to visit: golf in two formats, a walking path in Brookside Park, and landmarks from the history of the United States. In the north, the town includes part of the Watchung Reservation. If you would like to focus your trip on nature, recreation, or historical topics, these interests can guide your choice of a vacation rental in Scotch Plains. The examples below show the kinds of activities you can focus on there.

Golf in Two Formats

Scotch Hills Golf Course has a 9-hole course. From the back tees, it offers 2,247 yards of golf and has a par of 33. This makes it easy to describe the course using a clear combination of hole count, length, and par. Those who consider golf a focus of their stay will find a different format here than on an 18-hole course.

Scotch Hills Country Club has an 18-hole miniature golf course with streams, stepping ponds, and a waterfall. These water features are among the course’s distinctive characteristics. This provides a straightforward distinction when planning a trip together: on the one hand, there is the 9-hole golf course with its stated yardage and par; on the other, a miniature golf course with 18 holes and several water features. You can take into account which format better suits your interests when choosing the focus of your trip.

Green Spaces and Walks

The part of the Watchung Reservation in northern Scotch Plains gives nature a place among the town’s defining features. Brookside Park offers a separate way to enjoy the outdoors: it has a walking path. Those who like to plan both golf and a walk as separate activities during their stay can consider these interests independently, without combining them into a single route. The walking path is a specific option for anyone who would like to set aside time for a walk when choosing where to stay.

Buildings and Stories from the Past

Frazee House is a farmstead dating from the American Revolutionary War. It was built in the characteristic yet rare Anglo-Dutch architectural style of the 18th century. Its preservation for more than 230 years makes it a landmark of Union County. Frazee House Park also includes a historic building. These details give the town a distinctive architectural and historical dimension, without limiting the perspective to a single era.

At Osborn Cannonball House, furnishings and local lore come together. The house has four furnished rooms with pieces from the colonial period and the early 19th century. Its name recalls a cannonball that struck the building during a battle in the American Revolutionary War. Two specific historical aspects can be found here: the furnishings of the rooms and the story behind the house’s name.

The historic cemetery of Scotch Plains Baptist Church is also among the places whose history is connected with the American Revolutionary War. The graves of 24 soldiers from that war are located there. Stage House Inn offers another perspective on the past: John Sutton built it as a hotel in 1737. Later, it was a stop on the Swift and Sure Stage Line, which ran between Philadelphia and New York. Together, these stories represent different facets of local history: a former hotel and a long-distance connection, as well as the memory of soldiers.

Golf also has historical significance in Scotch Plains. Shady Rest was the first golf and country club in the United States operated by African Americans. This aspect adds a history that goes beyond the course format or the amenities of a facility to the specific golf offerings. When planning a trip, golf enthusiasts can therefore consider both today’s ways to play and the club’s historical significance as separate topics.

More Travel Ideas

For more travel ideas, you can also consider Cranford, Westfield, Clark, Elizabeth, New Providence, Rahway, Berkeley Heights, and Kenilworth.

For the broader travel overview: Union.