Great Falls and Lambert Castle

Some of you might remember the opening scene (or at least one of the early sccenes) from the movie Hurricane where a few kids are seen being attacked by a police officer near a waterfall. That waterfall is the Passaic River making its way through the [first] planned industrial city of Paterson, NJ forming the Great Falls: considered the second highest in the east coast of the USA. The city is a sad shadow of its heyday as the Silk City and this is obvious in the trash and graffiti that surrounds the Great Falls today. Nevertheless, the Falls are very impressive and worth a visit. Check the web (including the Paterson city web site) for additional information on city museums. A short drive from the falls is Lambert Castle, an ostentatious creation of a silk millionaire furnished with European art acquired during his visits. I recommend the short uphill hike from the Castle that leads to an observatory, though it (at last check) is/was locked.

Red Bank and vicinity

Few towns and regions in NJ cater to the yuppie in you as well as the city of Red Bank (exit 109 off the Garden State Parkway and reachable by NJTransit Coast Line) and neighbourhood. The Shrewsbury River runs along the town providing the opportunity for two parks with water views. Boat (canoe and perhaps also kayak) rentals are available in town.

The centre of town is Broad Street with the required restaurants, quirky shops (including Jay and Silent Bob’s — of Clerks fame — Secret Stash), and a Starbucks. Red Bank is big on Italian food and there are at least 5 Italian restaurants in town, of which I recommend Pastaria.

Red Bank is the birthplace of jazz legend Count Basie and there is a theatre dedicated to him (Count Basie Theatre), at which occasionally you may find interesting fare (e.g: Pat Metheny). More often its Smokey Robinson ;-). Check the street out anyway, since it is home to one of the most interesting restaurants in Red Bank: The Eurasian Eatery.

Further down to the east (drive down along the river on Front Street) is the town of Fair Haven which has a few points of interest: a small park with tennis courts, but of more interest: a large playground for kids, with slides and other such contraptions, and a small beach at the river edge. A bit further down the street is a good ice cream shop. You might as well turn left down that road onto the drawbridge, which you can and should take a walk across. Points further east will take you to Rumson and other towns of millionaire residents like Bruce Springsteen.

Back in Red Bank, the western part of town is the base of a thriving Hispanic community, along with the strange and interesting Galleria (shopping complex) and a bunch of antique shops.

And that bridge across the Shrewsbury? A right past the bridge will take you to Sandy Hook and its many interesting beaches.

Definitely worth a day trip, especially in summer.

Other local attractions that will be covered in a separate post: Hartshone Park and Huber Woods.

Pyramid Mountain

Located in the fairly dense northern New Jersey towns of Boonton and Parsippany is Pyramid Mountain Park, now a national historic area, thanks to the efforts of local activists. What it could have become (another overdeveloped urban blight) is obvious when viewing the giant pylons running through the park. Fortunately, other than this intrusion, the park provides a wonderful nature area for hiking and viewing some interesting rock formations.

The trails offer decent hikes, rugged and steep at times, and over varying types of land.

The chief attraction of the park are the giant rocks (boulders), in particular Tripod Rock a glacial erratic, left balanced precariously on three smaller rocks by the receding Wisconsin Glacier. There are other such interesting rocks here: the Whalehead Rock; the massive Bear Rock thought to be one of the largest such rocks in New Jersey.

Cranberry Harvest in the Pine Barrens

Its admittedly a bit late but note this down for next year. The cranberry harvest was carried out at Double Trouble State Park this weekend. The cranberry bogs are flooded with water causing the berries to rise to the top, after which they are collected. Its a great experience to see the berries forming a red carpet over the water.

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Double Trouble State Park

Approximate off Exit 80 of the Garden State Parkway (and therefore in Central-Eastern NJ) is Double Trouble State Park. There are varying stories, it seems, for the name, and you can read about them by following the link to the park web site. Double Trouble sits in the area of Jersey called the Pine Barrens, home to the famous (mythical) Jersey Devil.

The park has a few great hikes, but of particular interest about the park are:

• Cedar Creek (pictured above), which runs through the park. The water is made red by the colour from the cedar trees. There are outfits that will let you rent a boat (a canoe, or better a sit-on-top kayak) that you can take down this creek. It’s a great adventure including bits with fairly fast moving water.
• The cranberry bogs in the park are harvested each fall (call the park for dates), which is an interesting sight to see.

Watch for turtles, snakes, birds… and if you are lucky, perhaps a river otter.

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