Branch Brook Park Alliance

About Branch Brook Park

Branch Brook Park is distinguished by being the first county park to be opened for public use in the United States. It has been placed on both the New Jersey (1980) and National (1981) Registers of Historic Places.

Located in the City of Newark and bordered at the southern end by U.S. Route 280, the park crosses Bloomfield Avenue, Park Avenue, and Heller Parkway, terminating near the Newark/Belleville line.

The park is nearly 4 miles long and averages 1/4 mile in width. At 359.72 acres, it is the largest developed park in the County. It features a combination of open meadowland and small patches of woodland on gently rolling terrain.

Named for a branch brook that flowed through the valley into the Passaic River, the park was originally intended to remain for passive recreation, but today is used largely for athletics activities as well as strolling, birdwatching and more passive activities.

More than 5,000 cherry trees that blossom during April are greater both in variety and number than the famed Washington, D.C., display the result of a 1927 gift from Mrs. Felix Fuld and the Bamberger family. At its height the Cherry Blossom Festival attracts over 10,000 people a day.