High Point State Park

This corner of New Jersey has long been high, wild country. It lies within the ancestral homeland of the Lenape people, whose descendants today include the Ramapough Lenape Nation, the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, and the Powhatan Renape communities. For generations the Kittatinny Ridge, whose name means endless hills, formed a natural highway and boundary across the region.

The park owes its existence to the generosity of Anthony and Susie Kuser, a wealthy couple who owned a resort and much of the summit land in the early twentieth century. In 1923 they donated the property to the state to be preserved as a public park, and they commissioned the great stone monument that crowns it. Completed in 1930, the obelisk was built to honor the state's war veterans and was modeled loosely on the Washington Monument, and it remains the tallest structure of its kind in New Jersey.

The High Point Monument is a tapering obelisk faced in local quartzite and granite, rising 220 feet from the summit. A stairway climbs its hollow interior to a small observation area near the top, and from there, or simply from the base, the reward is one of the widest views in the state. On a clear day the eye travels over the Pocono ridges of Pennsylvania, the rolling farmland and reservoirs of New York, and the long green wave of the Kittatinny running south.

The summit is an exposed, breezy place, cooler and windier than the valleys below, and the light shifts dramatically with the weather. At dawn and dusk the ridges fade into layered blue silhouettes, and after a storm the air can turn crystalline, extending the view for many miles. It is a spot that rewards patience and a clear sky.

Below the monument the park spreads across a large tract of Kittatinny forest, oak and maple on the slopes giving way to a rare surviving cedar swamp in a cool, boggy hollow, a remnant of a colder age preserved as a natural area. Lake Marcia, a spring-fed pond near the summit, offers a beach for swimming, and quieter waters draw paddlers and anglers.

The park is threaded with trails for every ability, from gentle loops around the lakes to steep, rocky climbs along the ridge. The Appalachian Trail passes through on its long journey from Georgia to Maine, and hikers on it cross this high New Jersey ground on their way north or south. In winter, when snow holds on the ridge, some of the trails serve cross-country skiers.

Spring comes late to the high ridge, with wildflowers, migrating birds, and the forest slowly leafing out after the valleys have already turned green. It is a quiet, fresh time to hike before the summer crowds.

Summer draws swimmers to Lake Marcia and hikers to the cooler heights, where the ridge breeze offers relief from valley heat. Autumn is the showpiece season, when the surrounding hills flame with color and the long view from the monument becomes a sea of red and gold. Winter is cold, snowy, and starkly beautiful, though the summit road and some trails may close, and the exposed ridge demands warm layers.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

High Point State Park, in the northwestern corner of New Jersey, is a beautiful mountain park containing the highest point in the state, crowned by a towering monument with sweeping views across three states. At the summit stands the High Point Monument, a tall obelisk marking the state's highest elevation, from near which visitors can gaze out over the ridges and valleys of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The park also offers hiking, a lake for swimming, forests, and the Appalachian Trail, all amid the scenic Kittatinny Mountains. A gorgeous and lofty mountain park, it delights visitors. With its summit and views, High Point State Park offers a spectacular destination in New Jersey.

You can visit the High Point Monument and take in sweeping views across three states, hike the trails including sections of the Appalachian Trail, swim at the lake, picnic, and enjoy the forests and mountain scenery. The summit monument, the panoramic views, the hiking, and the lake are the draws, making it a wonderful mountain destination. Reaching the highest point in New Jersey and its far-reaching views is a highlight. With its summit and trails, High Point State Park offers a rewarding experience in New Jersey.

High Point is a mountain park where the weather can be cooler and windier than in the lowlands, so bringing layers is wise, and the trails can be rocky, so sturdy footwear and watching your footing help, especially near any steep or exposed spots. If you swim at the lake, doing so only where and when permitted matters, and this is bear country, so being bear-aware is important. Checking current conditions and any monument access before you go helps. Coming prepared for mountain conditions ensures a rewarding visit to High Point State Park in New Jersey.

The mild months of spring through fall are the most pleasant for hiking, the summit views, and the lake, with summer good for swimming and fall spectacular for foliage across the mountains, while access to the monument itself may be seasonal. Because conditions and monument access vary, checking current information before you go is wise. For the best hiking, views, and foliage, aim for spring through fall, with fall a highlight, at High Point State Park in New Jersey.

High Point State Park is in the northwestern corner of New Jersey, within reach of the Delaware Water Gap to the south, the Franklin Mineral Museum, the Kittatinny Mountains, and the New Jersey Skylands region. That makes High Point State Park a spectacular stop to combine with the Delaware Water Gap and the other attractions of the New Jersey Skylands on a visit to the state.