Discover Ridgefield Park

Ridgefield Park offers several reasons to stay: a long-running parade, collections on local history, a nature preserve, community gardens, and recreational activities. For planning, it helps to consider events, historical collections, and outdoor activities separately. Access requirements are not the same everywhere; in particular, access to the Nature Preserve is limited to residents.

Parades and Local History

The Fourth of July Parade and Celebration in Ridgefield Park was founded in 1894 and is the oldest continuously held parade in the United States, as well as the oldest in New Jersey. It takes place annually. Its long tradition makes it a distinctive part of the local events calendar.

In the Baby and Youth Parade, children from the Village and beyond walk in the parade or ride in decorated carriages, elaborately designed floats, or personally decorated bicycles. The different ways to participate give this parade its own character. Since annual schedules can change, check the date of the specific edition before including it in your plans.

The Gregory Olsen Local History Room at the public library focuses on Ridgefield Park's past. Its collections include photographs, newspaper articles, and maps. These formats offer different ways to explore local history: images, press coverage, and spatial representations complement one another. The room also holds Ridgefield Park High School yearbooks dating from 1919 onward. In this way, it brings together general records on local history and a specific connection to the school.

Nature and Community Gardens

The Ridgefield Park Nature Preserve, formerly called The Woods, is a habitat for native plants and wildlife. The Preserve is reserved for residents and is open daily from dawn to dusk. At Quinn Overlook, visitors can take part in citizen science with the Chronolog, a community photo-monitoring project. Check the current access information before visiting, as access conditions may change.

The McGowan and Fellowship Community Gardens have raised beds with vegetables and herbs that the public is expressly allowed to harvest. Their focus differs from that of the Preserve: the Preserve is centered on native plants, wildlife, and photo monitoring, while the community gardens allow harvesting. Since public garden rules may change, check the current harvesting conditions before visiting.

Recreational Spots in the Village

The John B. Davis Municipal Pool is the Village of Ridgefield Park's outdoor swimming pool, located at the eastern end of Hobart Street. Its location at the east end of the street situates the municipal pool within the Village.

Another specific recreational activity is model boating at Overpeck County Park, at its location on Challenger Road in Ridgefield Park. There are different kinds of activities to choose from, from swimming at the outdoor pool to community harvesting and model boating.

Discover more destinations: Ridgefield, Fort Lee, East Rutherford, Edgewater, Hasbrouck Heights, Carlstadt, Saddle River, South Hackensack Township

For the broader travel overview: Bergen.