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Rifle Camp Park is a Passaic County park in New Jersey and the historic site of a Continental Army Rifle Corps encampment. During the Industrial Revolution, the land was part of the Lambert estate.
The Lamberts owned textile mills in Paterson. After Catholina Lambert’s death in 1923, the property was sold to the city of Paterson. Five years later, the land was transferred to the county for the creation of Rifle Camp Park and Garrett Mountain Reservation.
A friend and I met up with Take A Hike NJ to explore Rifle Camp Park. We followed the yellow trail which is about 3.3 miles. It was more challenging than we expected…Fitbit said we climbed 57 flights!
The park is actually in the Watchung Mountains. The elevation made it an ideal place for George Washington to observe the British army. Today there is a housing development at the base of the cliffs and an iron fence prevents hikers from accidentally falling onto the rooftops below.
Along this hike, we passed some interesting large rock formations, Great Notch Reservoir and its outlet stream, an observatory and a concrete toboggan slide before returning to the parking lot.
Location: 387 Rifle Camp Rd, Woodland Park, NJ 07424
Designation: County Park
Date established/designated: 1928
Date of my visit: November 23, 2019
