Top 3 Best Parks in Gloucester County New Jersey
Since the 2020 events, many people have gotten used to indoor life. Even though many people are trying to get out there and become active now, the economy doesn’t make it easy on the pocket to go out and have a good time.
I found that if you’re a parent and pretty active physically, going to the park it’s not only one of the cheapest things that you can do because it’s free… But it can also be an enjoyable adventure. Obviously you don’t want to be one of those parents who sit on the bench busy on their cellphones while their kids are playing. Get involved!
I’ve explored a lot of the parks in the Gloucester County area and a few in the neighboring county of Camden county. I thought that I would give my reviews of the best parks around here. I thought that this would inspire others who may also be looking for a free, but fun day out with the family!
Washington Lake park
626 Hurffville- Crosskeys Road Washington Township, New Jersey
This one is at the top of the list because I think that it’s by far one of the best parks out here. I put it at number one because this park has everything! There are multiple play areas where children of all ages can play on equipment that is especially crafted for their age group. They have a stage for performances. They often have movie night there in the summer. The children just love it!
They also have mini picnic areas where you can barbecue and have an event whether an anniversary or birthday party.
There are bike rentals where you can ride along the bike trail or ride out toward the nature trail. just along the nature trail, they have a lake. There are actually A few bodies of water there and in one of them they have a beautiful family of Koi fish. The children absolutely love feeding them. There is a second nature trail that connects into the other one, where they have a beautiful wooden walkway built straight through the woods. It leads to some of the tennis courts that they have for tennis lovers. They also have fields for just about every sport and some outdoor workout equipment.
The park itself is lovely. Landscaping is kept beautifully and it’s such a large property that you could find an entire day of activities for you and your family there. In fact, many people go there to just sit and read, picnic out in the grass, fly kites, or ride bikes with their family. They also have plenty of restrooms conveniently located throughout the park.
This is definitely my go to park when it comes to wanting to have a variety of things to do for my children.
Fasola Park
12 Sycamore Lane Deptford, New Jersey
My second best pick for public parks is Washington Lake Park‘s contender, Fasola park. This is also another wonderful place to visit with your family if you’re in the local area. They have a variety of playground equipment although not as much as Washington Lake Park. I do like the equipment that they have though, because it seems to be more modern and a little more exciting. For example, they have a jungle gym that the kids can climb up inside of on two levels, and it spins. They also have a huge jungle gym made out of ropes that the kids can climb up, or all over. They also have some outdoor musical playground equipment. There are bongos, and a large chime that the kids can bang to explore sounds.
At Fasola park, they have a beautiful nature trail as well that wraps around a man-made lake. They also have tennis courts at a soccer field. They also provide public restrooms, but only in one location. If you’re out hiking on their nature trail, it may take you a while to get back to the restroom.
What makes this park stand out is that they have an outdoor water park area for the children, when it’s summertime. The water shoots out through several water spouts that are positioned throughout the small area. A lot of the children like to go have fun in the water there when it’s hot outside.
I definitely make this park my #2 in my “Top Best Parks” list because it is very unique and provides the children with a lot of summer fun.
James G. Atkinson Park
138 Bethel Mill Road Sewell, New Jersey
For my third favorite park, James G. Atkinson Park definitely takes it! This park is wonderful and takes its place alongside Washington Lake, and Fasola. James Atkinson park is a hidden gem. When driving down the road you don’t even see a playground area because the park is built further off of the road across a field.
They have a large play area for children and then a smaller play area for toddlers. They also have a small stage for events, and a walking path in nature. They have beautiful tennis courts and fields for other types of sports, all throughout the property.
The reason why it made my third selection and it wasn’t number one or two, it’s because I felt that they didn’t have a lot of selections and playground equipment there even though what they do have is rather large. The equipment is fun and provides challenges for children that can help them in coordination, balance, and strength. However, it was located on just a smaller portion of the property whereas the other parks had larger selections and choices for the kids. Other than that, it falls right next to the others as being one of the best parks in the Gloucester county area.
Red Bank Battlefield Park
100 Hessian Ave National Park New Jersey
Another park that is a wonderful place to visit would be the Redbank Battlefield Park. I’ve actually lived in the local area most of my life and never knew that this part existed. We just happened upon it a few years ago.
This is a beautiful area. It has a lovely walking track facing the Delaware river, and a beautiful variety of trees that are planted all over the property. this park has great historical value because it was the location where the Hasean soldiers battled in the revolutionary war. In 2022 they actually found a mass grave located on the property.
There’s a beautiful area for the children to play, with two sets of playground equipment for the different age groups. One of them is ages two through six, the other one is ages six through 12. My children really enjoyed playing here and even though there wasn’t a lot of playground equipment, what was there was entertaining enough. I really love this park for picnicking and taking a nice walk in the late afternoon along the river. It faces a view of Philadelphia as well.
There are public bathrooms available as well as a baby changing station.
You may want to check out an extremely old tree that you can actually sit inside of, when you visit. It’s picture worthy!
Those are my top three choices for the best recreational parks in my local vicinity. There are other parks all throughout the Gloucester County area that are worthy of checking out. The Field of Dreams located at 42 River Lane in Thorofare New Jersey is definitely one of them. It has a huge wooden castle park area that the kids would love to climb through an explorer. However it doesn’t really have anything else. I could name a few others but if you don’t want to waste time and you want to go straight to a park that ensures that you are going to have a wonderful time with your family, then check out one of the four parks that I’ve listed above.
An idea to try when heading out to one of the parks, is that you could split the activities for each time that you go. On one day you could just take a walk through nature while on another day, perhaps ride bikes or play on the playground equipment. All three of these parks have so many activities of things that you can do there, that you could even stretch it out into a whole week of planned family fun. That will make the parks a little more exciting because there will be something new to explore each time that you visit. This way, it never gets old! I truly hope that you enjoy yourself when you visit!
Take a bottle of hand sanitizer with you. It definitely helps prevent spreading germs since there are a lot of people at the park. That especially includes the area where the children play. Imagine that there are some kids out there that still pick their nose lol.