Dover Parks - Community Treasures to Enjoy

The Shade Tree Commission oversees the regulation, planting, care, and control of trees and shrubbery within the streets, public places, and parks of the municipality. Together with the Public Works Department, we take great pride in the planting and care of the many shrubs and ornamental trees found throughout our parks.

Our town is graced with the following public parks:

🌳 Water Works Park is located off of Princeton Avenue along the banks of the Rockaway River. The Dover Water Commission purchased the land in 1902 to develop water wells for the growing community and in 1933 much of the open space was improved as public park for passive and recreational use.  Water Works Park features a large picnic pavilion, playground, field and across to a tranquil wooded area along the Rockaway River. In recent years, a marked .75 mile River Trail Walk was created as a result of the efforts of the middle and high school students taking part in the County College of Morris Dover Promise program.

🌳 Hurd Park is a passive park that was donated to the town in 1911 by John Ward Hurd. The 6-acre park features a Greek style pavilion having fluted columns, a red-tiled roof and a scenic background. The park is also host to a 1922 World War I Spirit of the American Doughboy statue, one of a few found around the country, a Civil War Memorial, a Spanish American War Memorial, and a Brick-walk Memorial naming those residents who served in our nation's Armed Forces.  Each spring, the Kwanzan cherry trees along Jackson Brook create a beautiful display of pink blossoms, attracting visitors from near and far.  To help protect these delicate trees, please do not climb the trees or shake or pull on their branches.

🌳 Crescent Field is located on Chestnut Street, within walking distance of Dover’s Historic Business District. The park features basketball courts, turf soccer fields, a circular walking path, and a fitness parcourse. Along Chestnut Street, visitors can also see Morris County’s first street mural art project, designed to help with traffic calming.

🌳 JFK Memorial Commons Park was created on the site of the former Morris Canal basin. The park features walking paths lined with large pine and shade trees, plenty of benches, a large gazebo, and a children’s playground. JFK Park is also home to Dover’s annual Christmas tree lighting.

🌳 Triangle Park is a small pocket park located in downtown Dover at the intersection of Prospect and W. Blackwell Streets. The park is home to Dover’s 9/11 Memorial, featuring two sections of steel from the Twin Towers surrounded by flowering shrubs and plants.

🌳 Hooey Park is a small neighborhood park with a basketball court and playground for children located in the Salem Village section of town. 

🌳 Richards Avenue Park is a small "pocket park" consisting of a small neighborhood children's playground designed on a former vacant lot. 

🌳 King Field and Bowlby Park is located in North Dover adjacent to the North Dover Elementary School. King Field was developed for Little League Baseball and features a full-serve concession stand. Bowlby Park features Bowlby Pond, a water body left in its natural state for passive use. 

🌳 Hedden County Park is a 380-acre park is located in Dover, Mine Hill, and Randolph and can be accessed by Reservoir Avenue in Dover. The park is named after the Hedden family of Dover, who donated the original 40 acres section in 1963. The park is owned and maintained by Morris County and was dedicated as a county park in 1970. Hedden Park features several hiking trails through woods, along streams and waterfalls, and the 6-acre Hedden Pond offers a fishing deck and paddle boats in season. The park also features a 140-person sheltered picnic pavilion with facilities, two ball fields, and other multiple-purpose fields, a children play area, and several wooded picnic areas with tables and grills.