New Jersey is blessed with hundreds of thousands of acres of state and national parks, forests and recreation areas.

New Jersey's Division of Parks and Forestry oversees 50 state parks, 11 forests and more than 50 historic sites all across New Jersey and offers visitors a near endless array of outdoor activities along with numerous camping sites. In addition, there are hundreds of county parks that offer a wide selection of outdoor activities. 

The National Park Service (NPS) operates five national parks in New Jersey: Morristown National Historical Park, the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Great Falls of the Passaic River (New Jersey’s Newest National Historical Park).

The NPS also operates the Thomas Edison National Historic Park in West Orange. The park is the site of Edison's invention factory, laboratory, workshops where he developed the phonograph and the motion picture camera.

Being the second largest waterfall by volume east of the Mississippi River (next to Niagara Falls),The Great Falls of the Passaic River is centered in an industrial historic district, considered to be “The Cradle of American Industry.” The Great Falls recently became New Jersey's newest National Historic Park. 

Morristown National Historic Park features a preserved area that was occupied by Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The area was selected by Washington because of its logistical, geographical and topographical military advantages and its location to New York City, which was occupied by the British.

The Delaware Water Gap encompasses nearly 70,000 acres of breathtaking scenery along 40 miles of the Delaware River, which winds through the Appalachian Mountains. The park features waterfalls and many outdoor activities, including canoeing, hiking, camping, swimming, biking, cross-country skiing, fishing and more.

Nearly two million people a year visit Sandy Hook to enjoy the park's 1,665 acres of ocean and bay beaches, fishing, hiking, natural areas, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and historic Fort Hancock.

And there’s the 1.1-million-acre Pinelands National Preserve, which is an ideal location for camping, fishing, cycling, birding and hiking.