Donaldson Park — Attraction in Highland Park

Donaldson Park, located in Highland Park, New Jersey, is a popular community space that offers a variety of recreational activities and scenic views. Here’s a review of the park:

Pros: Beautiful Scenery:The park is situated along the Raritan River, providing lovely views and a serene environment. The riverfront adds a peaceful element to the park, making it a great spot for relaxation and nature walks.

Recreational Facilities: Donaldson Park has a wide range of facilities, including playgrounds, sports fields (like soccer and baseball fields), and tennis courts. There are also picnic areas with grills, making it an ideal spot for family gatherings and outdoor events.

Dog Park: For pet owners, the park features a well-maintained dog park where dogs can run freely and socialize with other pets.

Walking and Biking Trails: The park has several paved paths suitable for walking, jogging, and biking. These trails are well-kept and provide a pleasant way to enjoy the outdoors.

Clean and Well-Maintained: The park is generally clean, with well-maintained facilities. It’s evident that the local community and park management take pride in keeping the area in good condition.

Cons: Crowded on Weekends: Due to its popularity, Donaldson Park can get quite crowded, especially on weekends and during nice weather. This can sometimes make finding parking or a quiet spot difficult.

Limited Shade: Some areas of the park, especially around the sports fields, have limited shade. During hot summer days, this can be a drawback if you’re looking for a cool place to relax.

Flooding Issues: Being close to the Raritan River, the park can experience flooding, particularly after heavy rains. This can lead to temporary closures of certain areas or...

This is a great place for walking along the banks of the Raritan River. There was once much more open space, with beautiful willow trees which added to the character of the park. The western entrance has a good slope, which in the 70s was a popular sledding spot on snowy days; the eastern entrance is lined with cherry trees.

There is an overemphasis on athletic playing fields, which now dominate the park. A beautiful artificial pond is a nice feature, ducks and herons are frequently seen here. In the 70s, the pond was illuminated at night as a popular ice skating location.

There is a boat ramp here, and a small pier is extended in the summer which affords beautiful views of the Raritan.

The parks department will patrol around sunset to make certain visitors vacate. The park tends to flood in very rainy weather, and will be muddy.

With nearly 50 years of memories of this park, including participation in the first Raritan River Festival in 1980, I can only give 3 stars because of lost potential. I love this park, but it was once a much better place. There are often fireworks here for the 4th of July, but this depends on mayors running for elections or reelection. A few have been canceled for no...

Located next to the Raritan river, this park is suitable for a variety of activities. It has a paved loop of about 1.25 miles (construction going on at the time of writing this review so the loop was broken at a couple of places). There were soccer and baseball fields, two kids’ playground and a fenced area for your friends with paws. Multiple picnic spots with parking space and trash bins. I saw a few people fishing as well. The river was gentle and there were people jet skiing.

Make sure you don’t forget the bug spray. A couple of parts of the paved path were drawn with chalks, hopefully the rainfalls have erased...