Franklin Lakes, NJ

A trail around the 75-acre lake at G. Thomas Donch Nature Preserve links Franklin Lakes to the much larger High Mountain Park Preserve. The borough’s 120-acre preserve has a 2.3-mile internal trail system, an accessible shoreline route with boardwalk sections and viewing platforms, fishing, and a hand-carried boat launch; its trails connect to more than 11 miles in High Mountain. Seasonal rentals and borough programs put kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, and stand-up paddleboards on the water without opening it to motorized craft. This passive recreation area sits within a 9.41-square-mile Bergen County borough whose 2020 census population was 11,079. Franklin Lakes incorporated in 1922 from part of Franklin Township and took its name from William Franklin, New Jersey’s last colonial governor. Lakes and wooded tracts remain important points of orientation, while medical-technology company Becton Dickinson maintains its headquarters in the borough.

community activity extends beyond the preserve through the Recreation and Parks Department, community center, fields, courts, and several smaller trail systems. The borough’s 2026 calendar included guided kayak tours, outdoor movies, a Saturday farmers and artisan market at Veterans Plaza, and the nineteenth season of Dream Team, a noncompetitive summer baseball program for young people with disabilities from Franklin Lakes and surrounding communities. Franklin Lakes Public Library adds year-round programs, classes, and workshops; its event categories include story times, STEM activities, crafts, films, trivia, and book groups, and a local card connects borrowers to a shared network of 78 libraries in Bergen, Essex, and Passaic counties.