Forget The Jersey Shore, Visit This State Park With New Jersey's Deepest Natural Lake, Fishing, And Trails

When most people think of spending time outdoors in New Jersey, they undoubtedly envision a day at the beach along the Jersey Shore. They are not alone in this thought, as around 120 million people visit this 130-mile-long sandy stretch of shoreline each year. So, while the Shore does offer plenty of outdoor activities, you likely won't have much solitude in which to enjoy them. However, if you head inland to the northern region of the Garden State, you will find a state park that not only features Jersey's deepest natural lake and three other smaller lakes, but also miles of trails and relatively small crowds.

With that in mind, outdoor enthusiasts looking to be able to spend time by the water, fish, and hike without fending off loads of people, should forget the Jersey Shore and head to Kittatinny Valley State Park. Located between Andover and Newton, Kittatinny Valley State Park sprawls across over 5,600 acres. Within that space are four lakes, including Lake Aeroflex. Reaching a depth of 110 feet, Lake Aeroflex is deeper than any other natural lake in the state, despite covering only 119 surface acres. But, despite having the deepest natural lake and offering a myriad of outdoor activities on its water bodies and trails, Kittatinny draws less than 200,000 visitors annually. This makes it an ideal destination for enjoying outdoor activities in a peaceful surrounding. 

Lake Aeroflex is quite unique in that it offers anglers an opportunity to target a variety of warm- and cold-water fish. Popular warm-water species such as bass and chain pickerel are regular catches. However, thanks to the lake's depth, so are cold-water fish such as brown and rainbow trout, which are stocked annually. The lake is well-known for yielding good catches of another cold-water species, salmon, which were introduced to the lake by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife and continue to be stocked yearly. Both trout and salmon are able to live year-round in Lake Aeroflex; the stockings are meant to supplement and maintain their numbers.

Fishing is also allowed on three other lakes within the park: Gardner's Pond, Twin Lakes, and White's Pond. Each of the four lakes offers shore fishing access. Additionally, Lake Aeroflex has a boat ramp and Twin Lakes has a car-top boat launch. Both ponds are only accessible by trails, although fishermen can haul kayaks and small boats to Gardner's Pond, where they can be shore-launched. Fishing is allowed throughout the year on all four lakes, although winter means ice-fishing once the lakes ice over. Regardless of the time of year, a valid New Jersey fishing license is required for anglers age 16 and older.

Paddlers can also utilize those same water bodies, although most of the paddling activity takes place on Lake Aeroflex. While paddling around the lake — the full loop is about 2.5 miles — paddlers will see lot of scenery, ranging from wooded shorelines to waterfront homes. What's more, they may also spot any of the various critters that inhabit the park while silently paddling along the shoreline.

Kittatinny Valley State Park has a variety of trails and trail sections within the park's boundaries, ranging in length from .5 to 6.8 miles long. Additionally, a portion of four different rail trails — Great Valley, Lehigh and Hudson River, Paulinskill Valley, and Sussex Branch — pass through the park. The range of length, terrain, and difficulty levels of these trails ensures there is a suitable path for everyone from casual walkers to skilled hikers.

A number of the trails in the park can also be used for horseback riding and, during winter, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. There are also 8 miles of mountain biking trails in the park. Whether on foot, bike, snowshoe, ski, or horseback, visitors traversing the trails in Kittatinny Valley could spot all sorts of animals, including black bears, bobcats, and any of the over 200 types of bird that call the area home .

Although the campsites at Kittatinny Valley State Park are no longer open, those who wish to camp will find plenty of options nearby. Most notably, Stokes State Forest, which may be the best fall foliage destination in Jersey, is about 16 miles away and has multiple camping areas for both tent and RV campers. There are also a pair of campgrounds and a handful of hotels in nearby Newton. There is actually a small airport within the state park, but the closest commercial airport is Newark Liberty International (EWR) in Newark, the New Jersey hub just west of Manhattan. The 45-mile route from Newark to Kittatinny Valley also takes visitors right past Hoptacong State Park, home to New Jersey's largest lake.