Darlington Park

Have read many reviews both negative and positive online and not sure where the negatives come from. Visited the late for the first time today with my 2.5 year old twin girls and my brother and we had a great time. Lake was clean, other patrons were very pleasant and so was the staff. Affordable and very close to home, glad I discovered it this summer, will be back next summer.

Review for the swimming lake:
Nicely sized man made lake with a children’s section for those that cannot swim. Appears to be a pool filled with sand; there is a diving board deep end as well for those who like to do tricks. The lake has lost it’s luster over the years. They no longer turn on the fountain jets and the water appears stale and filled with bugs. Personally, I don’t wade in the water above waist high as I find it to be pretty disgusting; not something I’d go underwater in.
As far as the atmosphere is concerned I can do without it. The people are subtly obnoxious and while you enjoy your time hunting for a shady spot and table you’ll find people drinking, smoking weed, tending to their babies in cribs, being unnecessarily loud, and playing genre specific music that doesn’t appeal to the masses loudly. It’s like a block party in a mountainous region lake environment. I say subtly because people mind their own business here, and you can sit idle tending to your grill trouble free.
It costs $ 10 to get in which is a rip off if you’re a Bergen county resident on weekends. I don’t come often and probably won’t return often either. Come early so you can get a table in the shade if that’s your thing. People tend to show up in masses and take more than one table to their centralized location. Three stars because my wife doesn’t mind the lake, but if it were me alone I’d give it a two.

I am usually extremely disgusted by lakes, especially man made lakes. Theyre just not my thing. On one of my boyfriend’s days off, we wanted to go enjoy the warm weather but not drive far, so he finally convinced me to go to Darlington Lake.
Its like $ 8 for bergen county residents and $ 2 for military members. Nj residents like $ 10, outof staters was somethjng crazy, dont remember.
I like that this lake had a beach area with sand that was clean. The water seemed fairly clean, except it was a murky lake color which I think is just reflective of the lake, not thr cleanliness. They also have picnic areas and you can bring grills. You cannot bring alcohol, and my bf told me that on weekends they check coolers. Of course the last time he was here was in the early 2000s so what does he know. Lol
If im really in need of some fun in the sun and im by myself without a desire to drive down to Asbury, ill come here for a few hours. It was a nice 20 mins from home get away.

Large park. .
One lake for Bathers and two lakes for fishing .
You can bbq, sit at the beach, fish, relax .
Very good for families .
Lots of parking, great attentive life guards .
Beautiful nature trail around the lakes .
Save money by filling the Bergen county parks card .then your price is 5 bucks.
Tips for fishermen :
Lots of vegetation on top of lake find clear areas by going around the lake .
Put a heavier sinker to break through the vegetation.

This review is not for the lake, or beaches. I have only been to Darlington Park in the late fall, winter, and early spring before the beaches open and they start charging money to enter. I used to walk and run here because literally no one would be here. The park isn’t huge, but one lap is just over a mile with a nice wooded area, then back onto concrete, and around the lake. I would recommend this park for a nice place to sit on a bench and read or just think because no one is here to bother you.