This is a list of state parks, forests, and historic sites in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state park system comprises —roughly 7.7% of New Jersey's land area—and serves over 17.8 million annual visitors.

The New Jersey State Parks unit of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, established in 1923, manages over 50 protected areas designated as state parks, state forests, recreation areas, and other properties. The agency also owns and manages 38 historical sites (some located within the boundaries of state parkland), five public marinas, and four public golf courses. New Jersey's state park system includes properties as small as the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and as large as the Wharton State Forest.

History

Forests and the Forest Park Reservation Commission

At the beginning of the twentieth century, New Jersey did not have much of a lumber or forestry industry. The value of its trees was insignificant and undermined by destruction by uncontrolled forest fires, and after decades of clear-cutting forests to fuel iron forges, furnaces, and other industrial operations.Gifford Pinchot, "A Study of Forest Fires and Wood Production in Southern New Jersey" in New Jersey Geological Survey, The Annual Report of the State Geologist for 1898 (Trenton: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1897). Appendix."Damage By Forest Fires, New Jersey Legislature to be Asked for Protection", The New York Times, January 5, 1896, page 16; "Forest Fires In New Jersey. The annual Loss Over $1,000,000—Need of Legislation to Save Timber Lands", The New York Times, April 16, 1893, page 10; "Caring for Jersey Forests. State Spending Money to Stop Fires and Promote an Industry", The New York Times, May 15, 1910, page 20. In 1896, the state geologist recommended the acquisition of land for parks in order to protect water supplies and to provide natural recreation to the state's increasing urban populations.John Conover Smock, "Natural Parks and Forest Reservations: Administrative Report", in New Jersey Geological Survey, The Annual Report of the State Geologist for the Year 1896 (Trenton: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1897), xxii-xxiii. After several years of reports and advocacy of geologists and naturalists (including, notably, U.S. forester Gifford Pinchot), New Jersey governor Edward C. Stokes established the Forest Park Reservation Commission in 1905 to protect forest land and create a system of park reserves within the state.P.L. 1905, ch. 47P.L. 1906, ch. 123 printed in Forest Park Reservation Commission, State of New Jersey, Reports of the Forest Park Reservation Commission of New Jersey: Second Annual Report for the Year Ending October 31st 1906 (Trenton: MacCrellish & Quigley, 1907). At the commission's meeting on September 12, 1905, the commissioners adopted the Salem Oak (of Salem, New Jersey) as a symbol of New Jersey's parks.Minutes of the Board of Forest Park Reservation Commissioners, New Jersey State Archives, Meeting of September 12, 1905. The commissioners acquired two tracts in southern New Jersey, near Mays Landing and along the Bass River, as the first state forest reserves."Saving Jersey’s Forests. State Buys Two Tracts of Land for Timber Experiments", The New York Times, October 6, 1905, page 9. The Mays Landing tract was sold in 1916 after opposition from local officials and landowners made acquisition and expansion on adjacent lands impossible. The Bass River tract became the core of Bass River State Forest.Kevin Wright, A Century of Forest Stewardship in New Jersey 1905-2005 (2005). Retrieved September 30, 2015. In 1907, the commissioners would also acquire on Kittatinny Mountain near Culver's Gap, supplemented by a gift from Governor Stokes, which would become the core of Stokes State Forest.Sussex County Deed Book H-10, p. 467; 18 May 1907, Lands in Townships of Sandyston and Frankford, parts of Lots 3, 4, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, and 53 of the Sussex Allotments from Noah H. Hopkins and Susan Hopkins, his wife, of Branchville, New Jersey, to the State of New Jersey for $5,000. The reservations, which by 1912 comprised became sites for studying forests, reforestation projects, and scientific forestry.Annual Report For the Year Ending June 30, 1920, Department of Conservation and Development, (Trenton: 1920). With the acquisition of a tract that included Swartswood Lake in Stillwater Township, the commission began developing parks for the purposes of recreation by providing boating, fishing, camping, and picnicking. In the Commission's 1915 Annual Report, they stated "It is intended to make Swartswood a public playground. Boat liveries and picnic shelters to be maintained under proper control will make it available to a large number of people".Reports of the Forest Park Reservation Commission of New Jersey: Tenth Annual Report for the Year Ending October 31st 1914 (Paterson: The News Printing Company, 1915). The Forest Park Reservation Commission was consolidated with other agencies into the Department and Board of Conservation and Development on April 8, 1915.State of New Jersey, P.L. 1915, ch. 241.

State Park Service

In 1923, the legislature authorized the creation of the State Park Service to administer the state parks and forests. New Jersey began to redirect its efforts from the development of these and other properties for recreational purposes instead of protecting or promoting the commercial potential of forested land. The state legislature established a commission to create a historic park along the Delaware River above Trenton, at the location where George Washington and Continental Army crossed the river on December 25, 1776 before the surprise attack on Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777). The initial plans were defeated by a public referendum, but there was increased desire to complete these plans to establish a Washington Crossing Memorial Park in time for the 150th anniversary of American independence in 1926. The park was officially dedicated and opened to the public on June 4, 1927. In the wake of World War I, state forester Alfred Gaskill proposed a new public park along Kittatinny Mountain, "as the State’s memorial to its sons who had made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War". A few years later, Colonel Anthony R. Kuser donated his mountaintop estate at High Point (the state's highest elevation) to the state for a public park with an additional gift of $500,000 to erect a granite-clad obelisk to honor veterans. Construction of the monument began in 1928 and was completed in 1930.

According to the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry administers and manages in its state parks, forests, and other areas. These areas, during the state's 2006 fiscal year (from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) recorded 17,843,541 visitors.Elliott Ruga, "Table 9: Acreage by Land Use of Lands Under the Jurisdiction of NJDEP Division of Parks and Forestry" and "Table 10: State Park and Forest Attendance, July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006", The Accomplishments of State Preservation Programs: A Compilation of Reports, Plans and other Studies Detailing Land Preservation, Farmland Preservation and Historic Preservation Accomplishments with State Funding in New Jersey (New Jersey Conservation Foundation, 2009), 20–21.

Planning future parks In 2006, the Division of Parks and Forestry began planning and preliminary work two new state parks: Great Falls State Park in Paterson, and Capital State Park in Trenton.New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, Parks: Great Falls State Park. Retrieved October 19, 2015.New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, Parks: Capital State Park. Retrieved October 15, 2015. The state's only other urban park is Liberty State Park in Jersey City. According to the master plan prepared by Philadelphia-based planning and urban design firm Wallace Roberts & Todd, Capital State Park would incorporate areas around the state's capitol complex in Trenton and the city's Delaware River and Assunpink Creek waterfronts to provide "a long-term strategy to revitalize Trenton by reestablishing connections to the downtown and reclaiming its riverfront."Wallace Roberts & Todd, Projects: New Jersey Capital Park Master Plan. Retrieved October 15, 2015.Wallace Robert & Todd, Chapter 1: Vision: Recasting Trenton, New Jersey Capital Park Master Plan (May 2013 version). Retrieved October 15, 2015. Great Falls subsequently became Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

In 2009, the state also purchased in Jefferson Township the former site of the Mount Paul monastery and seminary belonging to Paulist Fathers (from 1924–2009). The tract, which will be developed into a state park, is located in the state's Highlands region on the eastern side of Sparta Mountain and featuring mountain streams that flow into the Russia Brook (a tributary of the Rockaway River).Rosa Kasper, "Sale means Mt. Paul will become state park", AIM Jefferson / northjersey.com, October 9, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

In 2021, Governor Phil Murphy approved the state purchase of part of an abandoned right-of way from Norfolk Southern Railway for the purpose of converting it into a new state park tentatively named the Essex - Hudson Greenway . The park will run from Montclair to Jersey City. Largely facilitated by the Open Space Institute, the park will also be a crucial section of the East Coast Greenway as well as part the 9/11 Memorial Trail, which will connect Shanksville, The Pentagon, and One World Trade Center. It will connect to the proposed Hackensack River Greenway and possibly the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The park may also incorporate a "transitway, a project proposed in NJ Transit's "Innovation Challenge", which aims to add a new, creative transportation solutions to The Meadowlands

Recreation and facilities

The State Park Service asks its visitors to embrace the "Carry In, Carry Out" philosophy in order to "keep the parks clean and beautiful by carrying out the trash you carry in".New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, State Park Service. Retrieved September 29, 2015.

Fishing and hunting are permitted in several of the state parks and forest.

Golf courses The State Park System also includes four golf courses that are open to the public. Each of the four courses include associated restaurant and banquet facilities and is operated under contract between a private management company and the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry, Golf Courses. Retrieved October 1, 2015. Centerton Golf Course, located in Pittsgrove Township in Salem County is located within Parvin State Park.Centerton Golf Course, . Retrieved October 1, 2015. Cream Ridge Golf Course is located in Cream Ridge in Monmouth County and was acquired by the state in 2006.Cream Ridge Golf Course, "About Us". Retrieved October 1, 2015. Spring Meadow Golf Course in Farmingdale in Monmouth County was privately developed and operated beginning in the 1920s and acquired by the state five decades later.Spring Meadow Golf Course, "About Us". Retrieved October 1, 2015.

White Oaks Golf Course - Gloucester County 2951 Dutch Mill Road Newfield, NJ 08344

Several of these properties were acquired as part of open space preservation initiatives managed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protections Green Acres Program.

State parks