I've been going to Duke Island Park regularly for the ten years I've been living in Raritan. This is a Somerset County park which runs east to west along the Raritan River off of Old York Road in Bridgewater, NJ. If you park by the band shell you can walk a loop east towards the small pond, then south to the river and west all the way past the dam and return from there. Before you get to the dam, the river passes trough a small gorge where there are gentle rapids (one of my favorite spots on the river). Returning from the dam you can choose to walk the canal path (it parallels the Raritan Power Canal which begins at the west end of the park and then runs through the park). There is also a bike/walking trail that begins in Raritan east of the park at a parking area on Old York Road by the historic Hibernia Mine Railroad Bridge over the canal. This east end of the bike trail is very nice with close views of the river. As a bird watcher I love to walk the trails all year. Bald Eagles nest just across the river on the Duke Estate (a/k/a Duke Farms). In Spring the Virginia Bluebells bloom presenting a spectacular scene along the river. People like to picnic here, walk dogs, bike ride, come to concerts and enjoy the fresh air.
Nice trails, good parking, cute bridges. Good amount of space. Nice foliage. (That's all I have to say, but they make you write at least 50 characters.)
Best places to hang-out with friends, family. Well connectivity for some taking public transport. Needs more food joints.
Duke Island is a beautiful well maintained recreational park that offers picnic & pavilion areas, a playground, softball/soccer field, walking and biking trails along the Raritan River, an open field/band shell for the summer concert series, and a visitor center with restrooms. This weekend we saw the park come alive with family gatherings enjoying picnics, or walking the trail to see Headgates Dam and waterfall as we did. Our walk was made even more pleasant by the shade of the trees along the path. Even our dog (on leash) enjoyed walking here, especially when she got the chance to cool off in the river below the dam. We will definitely be back.
Concerts in summer, trails for walking, playgrounds for kids, pavilion for picnics. Good local park for family.
I've visited Duke Island Park on several occasions and found it to be a very nice park. I particularly enjoyed the jogging/walking trail that runs through the wooded area near the river.
We saw some wonderful and fun concerts this summer for FREE here this summer. The Stylistics, the Happenings - to name a few.Bring your lawn chairs, snacks and sit back and enjoy.
it was free to get it and it was so large that the entire time we were there we only saw one other couple walking around. There are plenty of hidden gems on the many different trails. There is a house of flowers/orchids, a secluded stone structure, a statue farm, and much more to enjoy on your walk through the park
This is a cute park. There are nice walking trails that are partially parallel to the Raritan Water Canal. I enjoy bringing my dogs here for a nice 3 mile walk. Part of the walk is on pavement and some is on a trail. This park also hosts 5K runs/walks.
We rented a pavillion and needed to get supplies there. Rangers gave us a hard time on parking close, making it very hard to utilize the site. Happened last year in a different part of the park. The porta-potty had no paper in it pretty early on Sunday morning (also happened last year). There are really no other facilities within range of the picnic areas. If I had more time to spend there, the trails seem nice and paved, but lack of restrooms is really a turn-off.