Thompson Park — Attraction in Middletown Township

Beautiful and spacious but my dog comes back with ticks EVERY SINGLE TIME even when it’s not tick season. Sometimes they get on me. It’s a shame, I otherwise love it there.

Edit: I’ve downgraded this park to one star. I discovered that about 5 years ago some people brought their dog to the park and it came with what they believe was over 150 ticks. They only went on manicured paths for about a mile and the dog was already on oral tick meds. Even if they were in a wooded area and the dog wasn’t on any tick medication, that is an INSANE amount of ticks to bring home. To make matters worse the Monmouth county parks system refused to spray, saying it was just not feasible to spray their parks. They couldn’t even bother to spray the paved paths where they KNOW there is a problem. This was all reported in a Patch article. For the sake of your children I hope they spray the playgrounds. I will never come back here, especially having experienced it myself. There is nowhere else I go in Monmouth county that I’ve seen this bad of a tick...

Went hiking at Thompson Park and took the Reservoir Loop which is 4.8 miles. Hiking through the woods was magical in a way and hard to believe I was still in NJ. The beautiful views of the Swimming River Reservoir and Marlu Lake were so breathtaking. I even met some dogs while hiking in the woods. I also took a walk to see some of the areas of the park. There are wide paved paths for running or walking your dog. There's an off-leash fenced in dog area. There are plenty of well-kept fields for different activities, a playground, creative arts center and you can go fishing and rent a canoe or kayak. The Visitor Center and landscape are incredibly beautiful. The Visitor Center was a mansion that belonged to the Thompson Family which was originally built in 1896. Due to a fire in 2006 that destroyed the family residence, it was rebuilt to retain its original beautiful structure and reopened in 2009 as an information center. Fun Fact: The Thompson estate was originally named Brookdale Farm and part of the estate became Brookdale...

Another gem of the county park system, Thompson Park is a great place to explore. Long hikes in the woods, short walks through the meadows, a 5 mile paved path and hundreds of acres of open grass will let you explore the whole park. In the winter you will also have a cross-country skiing trail as an option. Don't forget to bring your fishing rod, favorite kid & your dog because you can enjoy some fishing on Marlu Lake, the excellent playground and off-leash bark park. Not all at once perhaps, but you can set your own priorities. Not enough? Ok, bird-watching along the Swimming River reservoir, tree-watching in the arboretum and paint-watching in the creative arts center may also float your boat. Of course, boat floating is encouraged in the lake which has a few small islands to explore and a family of friendly swans that return every summer. Be sure to visit the visitor center as well to learn about the history of the Thompson Park and the Brookdale Farm - one time home of "Regret" the first filly to win the...