Pompton Lakes, NJ

Pompton Lakes is a Passaic County borough where the Ramapo River, Pompton Lake, and older industry all matter. An ironworks was built near the current lake dam in the early 1700s and produced munitions during the Revolutionary War, giving the borough a deep industrial backstory. Later, local sites were used for rocket testing, and the town has even appeared on film through scenes from In & Out at Pompton Lakes High School. It feels like a compact North Jersey lake-and-river borough with layers.