Allaire State Park — Attraction in Wall Township

This post was conflicting. The park itself i love to go to with my kids and especially when the train is running and the reenactments are going. However we went to the very well and publicly advertised christmas festival super excited for the horse drawn carriage and train. My kids were so happy. Got there and they said the train was sold out last week and the horse and carriage too!!! So a wonderful lady talked with my very upset daughter where she explained the singing and bakery and tour to her she said ok ill go so I paid 50 for all 5 of us to go then we we t to the singing at the chapel which was fun then we walked around my little guy asked for the train which broke my heart and then when we saw the horses he wanted to go also got upset when he asked why we weren't allowed on. We had fun with the train and the tracks. Then went to bakery they were SOLD OUT of everything but oatmeal raisin cookies and scones, did not even have hot cocoa!!! It was 1230!!! The event went until 330-4!!! My daughter and kids again vwry upset went to look inside thw family home where they were cooking and my daughter was looking at a cup on the table and the lady screamed at her so badly my daughter cried which was lucky for the lady!! If i didnt have to calm her down i would of been arguing with the lady. We went to the mill house and the wheel house then thw gift shop and left. Never made it to mansion. My kids have a total disinterest in the park now which saddens me. Because i love the park but the christmas festival should have been planned better and who sells tickets weeks in advance to the train and the horse rides then people show up and leave, like we almost did, or find it horrible that they drove so far and never mentioned in the adverts that train and carriage ride was sold OUT or to buy tickets in advance! The bakery however should have been better prepared and the woman that yelled at my daughtwr shouldn't work...

What a pleasure it was to visit Allaire State Park for the first time this weekend. We visited on a beautiful spring Sunday morning/afternoon when there weren’t any special events going on. We paid $5 per person to enter the village and were surprised that there was someone (employee/volunteer?) in every building to provide information about their area (blacksmith, carpenter, etc.). The bakery and general store were both open with items for sale. We had a nice tour of the mansion and the lovely woman in the enameling furnace building spent a lot of time with us telling the whole story of the property and it’s past owners (at least half an hour). If you have the time, I definitely recommend listening to everything the staff has to say. We learned so much and everyone seemed very proud to be sharing. We then paid $6 per person to ride the steam train. The train isn’t related to the history of the village but it has been on the property since the 60s. All the train staff were friendly and we got two loops on the track. The ride is loud and quick but perfect for kids. They do really push for donations but they do explain that the upkeep of the train is fully funded by ticket sales and donations, no state funding. There are a few bathrooms on the property. Some inside at the visitors center and some porta potties in the village. We arrived earlier in the day and there was ample parking in the lot by the village but they use overflow lots in fields during larger special events. It was a little more crowded when we left several hours later and noticed a lot of graduates having their photos taken. Seems like a beautiful location for special occasion photos but did notice a sign that wedding photos are by permit only. We had a beautiful day at Allaire State Park and look forward to exploring the trails and visiting at...

Allaire I grew up going too. We always enjoyed the general store that had the real witches brooms, had them old fashioned candies in medal circle can and candy canes, books on nature and stories of jersey devil. It's always been great for our picnics and when was a child they had the covered horse biggy rides that we enjoyed and the train. It's definitely family friendly. For Halloween they get scary for a great chill down spine. After all it's the backyard of the jersey devil. There's a campground last I known too. Definitely worth going for a scary night of scary stories and sleep at campground after reading bout jersey devil. Which my 3rd grade social studies book chapter 3 was about the jersey devil and was told to not ever be outside in pine barrens after 8 cause he comes out at 8pm. Even as a adult you won't catch me walking out there at night. I did one yr for Halloween activity n don't d t like it the whole time. Great time but for me it's one story I don't want to know if true or not. Have dog and cats on leashes ,pick up after their messes and you will not have a problem last I known. There's playgrounds open space,picnic areas,stream, walk path, blacksmith exhibit,other exhibits,church which you can rent to wed there and restrooms are provided.bike path and horse friendly paths. So please don't go flying on the back roads and spook horses causing injury to...