One of My Favorite Places: Paterson Great Falls National Park

The reason why “New Jersey Isn’t Boring” exists is because I wanted to prove to people that, hey, New Jersey Isn’t Boring! One of the reasons why New Jersey is interesting is thanks to landmarks like Paterson Great Falls National Park (72 McBride Avenue, Paterson, NJ).

First thing to note about visiting this National Park…it’s FREE. Yes, it’s free and it’s a great place to visit with the family. So unless you hate nature, you don’t have a great reason not to visit. The park also holds a lot of great events throughout the year, including arts in the park, annual festivals, fireworks and more!

Although it’s one of the country’s newer National Historic Parks (established in 2009), the Great Falls of Paterson has been a prominent waterfall in New Jersey. The Great Falls are 77 feet high, and is one of the United States largest waterfalls. It is part of the Great Falls of Paterson-Garret Mountain National Natural Landmark, and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District since 1976.

Alexander Hamilton saw the potential of the Great Falls alllll the way back in 1778 when he visited the future site of Paterson, New Jersey. When he became Secretary of State, he selected the site of the Great Falls (which would soon be named Paterson after the NJ Governor) as the nation’s first planned industrial city. Hamilton commissioned civil engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant, responsible for the layout of the new capital at Washington, D.C., to design the system of canals known as raceways supplying the power for the watermills in the new town. As a result, Paterson became the nucleus for a burgeoning mill industry.

 

When you go to visit the Paterson Great Falls you can schedule a tour or take a self guided tour, taking in the sites of this National Park. I personally loved taking a self guided tour and taking in the majestic views of the Great Falls.

So why not visit? There are beautiful sites to take in, you can learn about a historic NJ landmark, and it’s a great way to spend a few hours.  Did I mention it’s free?

To learn more about Paterson Great Falls National Park, be sure to visit their Website, Facebook, and Instagram.