About
The Mills Reservation is a county park, consisting of a 157.15-acres that is located in Cedar Grove and Montclair, New Jersey. The reservation is maintained by the Essex County Park Commission. The reservation has several walking/jogging trails, including four major trails and numerous smaller trails. One of the four main trails leads to a cliff that overlooks the New York skyline.
This park contains a segment of the 36-mile Lenape Trail, a unique urban/suburban trail connecting 18 parks and 11 municipalities in Essex County. A guide to the trail, including comprehensive trail maps, has been written by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference in close collaboration with the Essex County Essex County Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs and can be found here.
Historic Profile
Mills Reservation is a 157.15-acre reservation located in Cedar Grove and Montclair. It is bordered by Reservoir Drive, Normal Avenue, Edgecliff Road, and Montclair's Mountainside Park.
In 1954 the Park Commission received a gift of 118.9 acres from the Davella Mills Foundation. Additional acreage was acquired through a land-swap for property in Branch Brook Park which went to Newark's Barringer High School. Acreage purchased in 1962 and 1967 completed the reservation.
The stipulation for the original gift was that the land be preserved in its natural state. Therefore, the only development undertaken on this land was a small parking area and a system of walking trails that gives the public access to the interior—a minimal design by the Olmsteds in their last association with Essex County. The outcrop at Quarry Point provides a scenic lookout. The area has attracted bird watchers who observe migratory birds, such as warblers in the spring and hawks in the fall. There are no buildings in Mills Reservation.
