Skillman Park

I and my dog love this new park. Always a beautiful walk !!!

A beautiful Somerset county park, that could have been condos (whew!). Perfect for easy hiking, biking, cross-​country skiing, or walking the dog. As this park was once part of the NJ Home for Epileptics, there’s an interesting old cemetery as well, bearing the names of those poor soles who were sent here to live their lives in bucolic isolation.
The bike trail is 2.25 miles long, while the entire park is about 250 acres, with an adjacent horse park for shows. There are porta-​johns scattered about, in case you need facilities, but mostly this is just a very quiet place to commune with Mother Nature unmolested by the usual NJ hectic pace. Near the western end of the park is the new headquarters of «SAVE — A Friend to Homeless Animals», where you can adopt a dog or cat, or just spend some time walking a dog.

A park on the former site of a mental institution??? I had to check it out as soon as I heard that! Open about ten days, this cute, 256-​acre park certainly has a rich and storied past. The tract of land started off as three private farms in the 19^th century. Those properties were purchased by the state of New Jersey in 1898 to establish the New Jersey State Village for Epileptics. In 1952, it was converted into the New Jersey Neuropsychiatric Institute, and in the 1970’s into a center for those with mental and developmental disabilities.
Sadly, none of the 100+ state buildings stand today. Much of the land had become an environmental brownfield over the last century. That has now been fully remediated. The only visible remnant from its institutional past is the layout of the idyllic 2-​mile, tree-​lined, paved trail that’s built along the original road. That layout dates back to 1901!
So now that the crumbling buildings and wastelands are gone, what will you actually find when you visit? An easy-​to-​navigate, system of scenic flat trails, almost all paved, that meanders through a combination of grasslands, light woods, and streams. In creating the landscaping, Somerset County Parks clearly attempted to make the area as pretty as possible, particularly along Rock Brook and its tributaries. Smack, dab, in the middle of the park, though, lies an elementary school. The largest parking lot in the park sits across from this school. Montgomery High School lies just outside the park’s borders.
This is my second visit. Both times, we were the only people on foot. Everyone else was a road cyclist. That may change as more people hear about the park. If you’re looking for an easy 2 – 3 mile walk or run, try this little gem!