Welcome to Passaic County, New Jersey

Rifle Camp Park is a 169-acre county park of Passaic County, It is located mostly within Woodland Park, but its eastern edge extends into Clifton as well. The area of Rifle Camp Park served as a location where Washington’s troops could observe British movements during the Revolutionary War in 1780. The name ‘Rifle Camp’ comes from the fact that Major James Parr’s rifle corps camped for a short time in the vicinity of the Great Notch, just to the south of what would eventually become the park

Rifle Camp Park was established from the same land acquired for the creation of the nearly adjacent Garret Mountain Reservation. The land was originally part of the estate of Catholina Lambert, the owner of a silk mill in Paterson. After Lambert’s death in 1923, the estate was sold to the City of Paterson, which eventually transferred the land to Passaic County in 1928. In 1929, landscape architecture firm Olmsted Associates was commissioned with the development of the parkland, completing work in 1934.

Rifle Camp Park sits on the ridgeline of Garret Mountain, a section of First Watchung Mountain. It is extensively forested, containing only a few open areas. Due to the local geology, large traprock outcrops are abundant throughout the property. The eastern limit of the parkland consists of nearly vertical basalt cliffs that provide panoramic views of the surrounding area. To the west is the Great Notch Reservoir, whose headwaters partly lie within the park and comprise the source of the Third River.

Features

Hiking Trails
Nature Observatory
Fitness Equipment
Amphitheater
Overnight Camping Facility
Warming Shelters
Senior Accessible Picnic Area

GPS Address: 385 Rifle Camp Road, Woodland Park, NJ