Hi everyone,
Having a website titled “NJ Playgrounds”, we sometimes get questions on reserving parks for parties. With the weather getting warmer, many folks opt for an office picnic or birthday party in a favorite park in the area. Although we have absolutely no authority, my partner and I are always ready to point people in the right direction. Since we get this question more than once, we thought we could help people navigate the parks world a little easier and post about it.
In general, NJ Parks is a broad topic, you have basically 4 types that are for public use:
1) City/Town/Township Parks- Usually if you google the township you are interested in you can see the Parks and Recreation Department or the Department of Public Works, and they may have a list of parks as well as a contact person. Townships are in charge of maintenance of these parks in the area. If you see something wrong with a park, and it is owned by the town, you should report it to them.
2) School Playgrounds- We cover some of these on our site, they are often fenced but for use by the public only after school hours. For anything about the school playground you should contact the school directly.
3) County Parks- A county park can be in one city/town/township or it can span a few different areas as well. If you google the county of the park you are interested in you may find that the park is a county park or you can find one that is nearby. For Hudson County for example, the contact person (2011) is Thomas McAnn as seen on the county page.
4) State Parks- NJ has some very beautiful state parks, that are great for hiking, picknicking and even swimming. Liberty State Park for example is a favorite for many of our readers and fans.
For Jersey City, here is the advice we gave someone who was interested in getting a cricket match together:
You can find the contact for the town parks/playground on this link
If it is a county park, like Braddock (north bergen) or Lincoln park (JC) then you would need to contact http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/county-park-system.aspx (A guest reviewer will be covering a favorite/Braddock shortly)
If you want Liberty State park one that we covered in a review earlier, great playground/grills here is their official site
As a NJ family resource we are looking to include great parks (listings/reviews) in Jersey City to share with our community, so if you do end up having a great time and cricket match, feel free to write me again so we can perhaps review the park and include your feedback!
Still need some help?
In Bergen County? Check out the birthday planning process for a party at a Bergen County Park, this post gives you all the details and is by the very thorough and informational Mirabest.
If you still need some assistance, comment below and we can try our best to point you to where to go!
Some tips:
* Make sure you request the park several months in advance. Town and county park offices may not move quickly, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time, just in case.
* Bring some sort of weights for plates, napkins, and tablecloths if you’re going to be outside, otherwise you’ll be scrounging for rocks to hold everything down.
* If you can find a gazebo or covered picnic area near a playground, you won’t need to schedule too much in terms of activities. Let the kids play until food is served.
* A cheap activity when the weather is warm: Buy some buckets and fill them with water, get measuring cups, balls, plastic animals, and other water toys. This worked wonders for a dozen 2-4 year olds last summer.
* Buy lots of cut fruit for the kids. I’ve been to some parties recently where there’s a fruit plate for the adults, but the kids love it. So a big giant plate of strawberries, cut melons, apples, the works…great healthy snack for the kids and the parents will appreciate it over another bowl of M&Ms.
-Chris
Hi,
Can you provide details to book ground for soft ball cricket or any other sports.