Explore Bloomfield through a range of interests: park paths and gardens sit alongside a historic estate, an Olmsted-designed landscape, and a museum with a local history collection. When planning your trip, it helps to consider in advance whether parks and outdoor activities or cultural history should be the main focus. Each place has its own character, offering different ways to shape your stay.
Parks, Paths, and Gardens
Brookdale Park brings several of these themes together. The park offers paths for walking and running and includes a section of the 36-mile Lenape Trail. Garden enthusiasts will also find the Rose Garden in Essex County Brookdale Park, which features 1,500 rose bushes from nearly 100 varieties. Paths, a section of a long-distance trail, and a diverse rose collection give the park more than one possible focus.
At the outdoor archery range in Brookdale Park, The Bloomfield Archers hold weekly “Sunday Shoots” from April through October. The event is open to all archers. If you would like to plan your trip around this program, check the seasonal dates in advance. This helps ensure your plans align with the event dates that work for you.
Watsessing Park offers a different perspective on the landscape. Designed by Olmsted, the landscape lies in Bloomfield and East Orange, and the Second River flows through the park. Here, the focus is on landscape design and the waterway. Historic Town Green offers a different character: this rectangular, tree-lined park covers five acres and runs parallel to Park Place. The forms and features described here make the differences between the parks clear without presenting them as a single route.
At Morris Canal Park, the Morris Canal Greenway is located at Pierson Lane and Oak Tree Lane, away from Broughton Avenue. The Bloomfield Morris Canal Greenway area also has pollinator-friendly flower beds.
Historic Sites and Culture
Oakeside Mansion & Gardens is a historic 19th-century estate surrounded by four acres of landscape and gardens. A visit to the estate therefore also includes a garden setting. Tours of Oakeside Mansion can be arranged by appointment. If you plan to include this activity, make an appointment in advance.
The Museum of the Historical Society of Bloomfield has a collection of maps, newspapers, photographs, postcards, letters, deeds, documents, and books. The museum is temporarily closed at present for restoration work. Keep this status in mind when planning cultural activities: the collection documents the historical holdings, while the closure affects in-person visits.
Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests
When choosing a hotel in Bloomfield, it can help to first decide what you want to focus on. Brookdale Park brings together paths, a rose garden, and a seasonal archery program; Watsessing Park is defined by its Olmsted design and the Second River. Oakeside offers a historic estate with gardens, and tours require an appointment in advance. The museum, meanwhile, is not an option for an in-person visit during its temporary restoration closure. These differences can help you tailor your trip to your interests and the conditions at each site.
Discover more destinations: Millburn, West Orange, Montclair, Fairfield, City of Orange, Maplewood, Roseland, East Orange.
For the broader travel overview: Essex.
