Highland Park offers a range of reasons to visit: parks and trails, a seasonal outdoor market, and recurring art programs. When choosing where to stay, you can first consider whether landscapes, local produce, or an art event should be the focus. The locations and offerings vary in trail length, season, and format.

Parks, Trails, and Nature

Donaldson Park, an 81-acre park in Highland Park, is located along the Raritan River. Its amenities include a boat ramp and paved paths. The Meadows offers two loop trails with different lengths and river access: the upper loop is 0.6 miles long and runs above the floodplain; the lower loop is 0.1 miles long and offers direct access to the Raritan River. These details provide a concrete guide when choosing a loop.

Wildlife in The Meadows includes deer, foxes, groundhogs, and numerous bird species. The Highland Park Native Plant Sanctuary offers a different natural highlight: this three-acre open space is dedicated to propagating and protecting native plants. So, in addition to trails and wildlife, native plants are also a focus.

The Recreation Complex has an accessible play area for children. Recreation programs are also held there year-round. These features add recreational options and a specifically accessible play area to the selection of natural spaces, without all of the location’s offerings being tailored to a single audience.

Farmers Market and Downtown

The Highland Park Farmers Market is a weekly outdoor market. Farmers and producers gather there on Fridays from February through December. Offerings include Jersey Fresh and seasonal produce, specialty mushrooms, fresh farm dairy products, sustainably caught fish, homemade breads, baked goods, pickled vegetables, and hot sauce. If the market is an important part of your trip planning, take note of the day of the week and the season, and check the specific dates before your visit.

Downtown Highland Park invites you to shop and dine at local restaurants. The market has a set weekly day during its season; shopping and dining are another local highlight. This lets you distinguish between a visit focused specifically on the market and a stay with more emphasis on shops and restaurants.

Art Events Throughout the Year

Arts in the Park is an annual street festival, juried art show, and arts and crafts market in downtown Highland Park. The program includes artistic performances, live music and other entertainment, food from local restaurants, and activities for children. It thus combines an exhibition and market with stage entertainment and activities for children.

The Highland Park Window Art Show has a different focus: each fall, works by local artists are displayed in the windows of downtown shops. A guided tour led by an artist is also offered. While Arts in the Park brings a festival and exhibition together, the Window Art Show focuses on window art and the tour. If one of these events is the reason for your trip, check the specific event dates before making plans.

Local History and Environmental Education

Livingston Manor is an early-20th-century residential development in the northwest part of the Borough of Highland Park. For travelers interested in local history, it offers a concrete connection to residential development of that era.

Environmental education is another local focus: the Eugene Young Environmental Education Center in Highland Park provides environmental education programs for schools and adults using hands-on and traditional teaching methods. This means that interest in the environment is addressed not only through parks and planted areas, but also through educational programs.

To make your decision, you can weigh the differences according to your reason for traveling: The Meadows lists two specific trail lengths, the weekly market has a set day and season, and the art programs differ in format and time of year. Highland Park thus offers a variety of themes to guide your stay planning.

Discover more destinations: North Brunswick, Edison, Cranbury Township, Carteret, Piscataway Township, South Brunswick Township, New Brunswick, East Brunswick Township

For the broader travel overview: Middlesex.