Garret Mountain Reservation (also spelled Garrett) is a park located on

First Watchung Mountain The Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native Lena ...

(Garret Mountain) in Paterson and Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) in southern

Passaic County Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...

, New Jersey. In 1967, it was designated a National Natural Landmark as part of the Great Falls of Paterson-Garret Mountain listing. The park extends into

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

. Garret Mountain is Passaic County's major recreational area, providing the visitors with grass fields, several miles of walking/running trails, basketball courts, picnic areas, Barbour's Pond is state stocked with fish for anglers, as well as an Equestrian Center with horseback riding lessons. The Passaic County Parks Department operates the park while the Passaic County Sheriff is responsible for law enforcement in the reservation. For the past several decades, the reservation has been the site of hundreds of high school and college cross country meets in the fall, including the

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

(NJSIAA) High School State Sectional Championships at the end of every October.

Etymology

There are two theories about the origin of the name Garret. One references the Garret Society, founded in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

in 1810, which met in local garrets. In 1834, the group visited Paterson and met on what was then known as Weasel Mountain. In 1861, a local map named the mountain as Garret's Rock. The second references Garret Pier, who owned property here.

History

Lambert Castle, located on the eastern slope of the First Watchung Mountain, just off Route 19, is a 19th-century castle which has been recently renovated and now hosts the Passaic County Museum (open to the public). It was built in 1892 by Catholina Lambert and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976 for its significance in art, architecture, and industry. Lambert Tower, on the crest of the mountain, overlooks the area. The Morris Canal once passed east of the castle. Up until 1962, the right-of-way now occupied by I-80 and Route 19 around Garrett Mountain was part of the

Boonton Line The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R ...

of the Lackawanna Railroad.

Fauna

Since the park is an oasis of woodland surrounded by urbanity, Garret Mountain is a stopover point for migrating song birds, including 35 species of warblers, numerous vireos, orioles, sparrows and thrushes. Birdwatchers from the tri-state areas flock to this hotspot for great views of over 150 species per year along the easily accessible trails.

Gallery

File:Lambert Castle, Paterson, NJ - looking northwest.jpg, Lambert Castle File:Lambert Tower, Garret Mountain Reservation, NJ.jpg, Lambert Tower on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

outcrop File:Watch Your Step (210242747).jpeg, Red-tailed hawk in nest File:Small Cormorant Big Fish (208099233).jpeg,

Cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

with fish File:View of NYC from Garret Mountain Reservation.jpg, View of NYC from trail on Garret Mountain

References

External links

*
Garret Mountain Reservation page
on Passaic County website
2009 map of Garret Mountain Reservation

1953 map of Garret Mountain Reservation

Lambert Castle - Passaic County Historical Society
{{authority control Nature reserves in New Jersey Parks in Passaic County, New Jersey National Natural Landmarks in New Jersey Geography of Paterson, New Jersey Watchung Mountains Woodland Park, New Jersey