Description:
Laurel Hill Park is ideal open space in Hudson County’s portion of the Meadowlands. Tucked behind the remaining rock quarry at Laurel Hill, the park is a landmark for the North Jersey region. Park highlights include its historical significance, natural features, recreational facilities, and water access to the Hackensack River. Visitors are sure to enjoy themselves at Laurel Hill, whether walking along the water’s edge, taking a kayak ride in the river, or just having fun outdoors within the park. While Laurel Hill is the most recently established County Park, it has a long and rich history. Nicknamed “Snake Hill” or “Fraternity Rock”, Laurel Hill Park’s defining feature of igneous rock mass was formed by volcanic action over 150 million years ago. It was largely obliterated by quarrying in the 1960s, but the remaining rock forms the southern edge of the park. This bedrock juts up some 150 feet and its highest point can be seen from the eastern spur of the N.J. Turnpike. Laurel Hill Park features two multi-purpose baseball/football/soccer fields, equipped with lights for evening play. You can also try your hand at stumping a batsman, as Laurel Hill Park features Hudson County’s only lighted synthetic cricket field and batting cage. Small children are sure to have a great time on the newly refurbished “SS Fun Ship” playground. The park also has a picnic area for visitors to enjoy an outdoor bite to eat, a boat launch, trails under the I-95 underpass, and views of the now-defunct DB Draw railroad swing bridge, built in 1889 by the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad and decommissioned in 2002. The line is being converted into a rail trail.