Garret Mountain Reservation (also spelled Garrett) is a park located on First Watchung Mountain (Garret Mountain) in Paterson and Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) in southern Passaic County, New Jersey. In 1967, it was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

as part of the Great Falls of Paterson-Garret Mountain listing. The park extends into Clifton. 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 (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 in 1810, which met in local

garret A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally, small, dismal, and cramped, with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a bui ...

s. 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 Lambert Castle, originally called Belle Vista, is located within the Garret Mountain Reservation in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey. The building was built in 1892 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 19 ...

, 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 ...

in 1976 for its significance in art, architecture, and industry. Lambert Tower, on the crest of the mountain, overlooks the area. The

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

once passed east of the castle. Up until 1962, the right-of-way now occupied by

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

and Route 19 around Garrett Mountain was part of the Boonton Line of the

Lackawanna Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

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,

File:Lambert Tower, Garret Mountain Reservation, NJ.jpg, Lambert Tower on

basalt Basalt (; ) is an 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 surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

outcrop File:Watch Your Step (210242747).jpeg,

Red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members wit ...

in nest File:Small Cormorant Big Fish (208099233).jpeg, Cormorant 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