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Morris County is full of lakes, and most guides to them are useless in the same way: they list pretty water without telling you whether you are allowed to be there.
That is the real problem here. A large share of Morris County’s lakes are private associations, members only clubs or residents only beaches with badge systems. Lake Hopatcong is the biggest lake in New Jersey and has exactly two public access points, because almost the entire shoreline is privately owned. Show up at the wrong one and you are turning around.
So this guide is sorted by what you can actually do. Three groups: walk up and use it, pay or get a badge first, or do not bother.
Just show up: fully public lakes
Hopatcong State Park, Landing
260 Lakeside Boulevard, Landing. This is the main public door onto Lake Hopatcong, and it is fully open to anyone.
The lake is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, roughly four square miles with over 50 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth around 50 feet, sitting at about 950 feet of elevation across Mount Arlington, Hopatcong, Jefferson Township and Roxbury.
Gate hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, with the boat launch closing an hour before the gate. Entry is free from Labor Day through Memorial Day weekend. In season it is $6 weekdays for New Jersey residents and $10 for non residents, rising to $10 and $20 on weekends and holidays, with a flat $3 for anyone walking or cycling in. Anything that will not fit in a standard parking space, including a boat trailer, pays double.
Swimming is permitted in designated areas only while lifeguards are on duty, posted for 2026 as Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in summer. Only Coast Guard approved life jackets are allowed.
There is a boat ramp open daily, with launch fees of $12 for New Jersey residents and $20 out of state in the shoulder seasons, paid at the park office or drop box with the pass displayed on your dashboard. There is no boat rental inside the park; rentals come from private marinas around the lake.
Fishing is allowed along the shorelines and in the Musconetcong River but not on the sandy beach. From the Tuesday after Labor Day to March 15 anglers can access the lake from anywhere in the park. Ice fishing is permitted during park hours when conditions allow. No overnight parking.
Dogs on a leash of six feet or less, and not on the beach or in the water. No alcohol. There is a large picnic area with grills, volleyball and basketball courts, a soccer field and a playground.
Lee’s County Park Marina, Mount Arlington
443 Howard Boulevard, Mount Arlington. The second public access to Lake Hopatcong, and the one almost every guide misses.
Open April 1 through November 30, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days. Three boat launch ramps, 100 seasonal slips and car top, kayak and canoe launching across 12.82 acres. It is a popular fishing tournament venue.
Swimming and fishing from the dock areas or from boats in the marina are prohibited. Parking must accompany a launching customer. Check the current Park Commission fee schedule before you go, since launch fees change.
Lake Musconetcong, Netcong and Stanhope
A 329 acre lake on the Morris and Sussex border, four miles west of Lake Hopatcong, administered as part of Hopatcong State Park.
The history is genuinely good: it was created in the mid 1800s by the Morris Canal and Banking Company as an additional water source for the canal, and was deeded to the State of New Jersey in 1924 along with the rest of the canal system. It is a man made lake that outlived its purpose by a century.
Fully public with a boat ramp, open sunrise to sunset. Boating, fishing and ice fishing are all popular here and it is on the state’s spring trout stocking list. There is no swimming, no designated area and no lifeguards.
Egbert’s Lake Park, Rockaway Township
864 Green Pond Road, Rockaway. Free, sunrise to sunset, and the best hidden gem on this list.
The township’s own description tells the story: Egbert’s Lake was once a thriving recreation resort with several summer vacation cottages on the lake, but fell into disrepair in the 1970s. All the cottages have been removed and the park has been restored to an untouched state.
The fuller version is better. The Egbert family held the tract from the mid 1860s, and it ran as a summer resort and camp through the 1940s and 50s, built around a 15 acre lake with cabins, a recreation center and a clubhouse. A developer targeted it for 15 homes. The Trust for Public Land negotiated the purchase for $1.3 million using township, county, state Green Acres and foundation money, twelve cabins came down in March 2006, and Rockaway Township opened it as a 72 acre park that year. An easement along an abandoned rail bed on the west side went to the Park Commission as an extension of the West Morris Greenway, connecting through to Wildcat Ridge.
There is a gravel walking path around the lake, benches and a picnic shelter. Boating and fishing are permitted, swimming is not.
Lake Ames Park, Rockaway Township
Snake Hill Road, Rockaway. Free, sunrise to sunset, fully public. Picnic tables and a walking trail around the lake, with parking and trail access off Snake Hill Road. Boating, fishing and ice fishing are permitted. No swimming.
Saffin Pond, Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, Jefferson Township
955 Weldon Road, Jefferson Township. Inside the largest park in the county system, more than 3,500 acres with 27 miles of multi-use trail.
The Park Commission pitches it as a peaceful spot to sit by the water with a fishing pole and views of the surrounding forest, which is accurate. Fishing yes, no swimming or boating offered. The reservation also holds the William G. Clark Fishing Education Pond.
This is the only place in Morris County you can camp beside water, with RV sites on paved pads and tent sites with raised platforms and Adirondack shelters, April through November.
Speedwell Lake, Morristown
A town park at Speedwell Avenue and Cory Road, fully public and free, with a playground and a direct connection to Patriots’ Path. It is trout stocked with confirmed public access from the state.
The photogenic part is the Speedwell dam spillway on the Whippany River, right beside Historic Speedwell at 333 Speedwell Avenue. Worth being accurate about it: this is a man made dam spillway, not a natural waterfall, and it is not in the state’s waterfall inventory. It still photographs beautifully.
No designated swim area and no lifeguards. Morristown is currently developing design concepts for the Patriots’ Path corridor linking Speedwell Lake Park and Lake Pocahontas.
Burnham Park Pond, Morristown
Public, free and trout stocked, on Washington Street just outside downtown Morristown. Fishing access is confirmed by the state; other rules are not well documented, so treat it as a fishing and walking stop rather than a swimming one.
Canty Lake, Silas Condict County Park, Kinnelon
100 Kinnelon Road, Kinnelon. Free, sunrise to sunset, inside 1,513 acres with over 10 miles of trail.
A picturesque seven acre lake partially lined with weeping cherry trees, created when a 19th century owner built a much larger dam on the property. Fishing is listed, there is a picnic area beside it and a shelter overlooking it. Swimming is not offered.
Lake George, Schooley’s Mountain County Park, Long Valley
91 East Springtown Road. Fishing only, free, sunrise to sunset. There is a renovated boathouse and a 470 foot floating bridge across to the Lodge, which makes for an easy flat walk, and the Falling Waters Trail into the Electric Brook gorge starts just beyond the earthen dam.
Splitrock Reservoir: read this before you go
420 Split Rock Road, Rockaway. The most beautiful water in the county and by far the strictest rules. This is the one people get fined at.
It is a state owned reservoir inside Farny State Park, remote and undeveloped, with a rocky shoreline that looks nothing like New Jersey. Gate open sunrise to sunset, no entrance fee.
Rockaway Township publishes the rules plainly, and they are worth reading as written:
The public may access the water body for fishing and kayaking only, from the public access parking area located near the dam. Only car top watercraft is permitted, and only if launched from that access. Gas powered motors are not permitted. Shoreline fishing is not permitted. And hiking is allowed only on the specific marked trails; other access will be considered trespass and violators will be subject to fine.
The state adds that there is no swimming, fishing is from boats only, electric motors only, and pets go on a six foot leash. Sections of Farny State Park are open to hunting.
The Four Birds Trail follows the shoreline, so the legal way to see the water on foot is to stay on that trail.
Where you can actually swim
The honest answer is that there is essentially one public swimming lake in Morris County open to everybody, plus the state park beach at Hopatcong.
Sunrise Lake Beach Club, Lewis Morris County Park, Morris Township
270 Mendham Road, Morris Township. The county’s only lifeguarded public swimming lake, and there is no residency requirement, which surprises people.
The 2026 season ran Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Weekends only from late May to late June, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. From late June through late August it added Wednesday through Friday, 12:30 to 6 p.m., with weekends 10:30 to 6. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays in peak season.
Daily rates ran $12 weekday and $16 weekend for adults 18 to 64, $10 and $14 for seniors 65 and over and children 5 to 17, free for children 4 and under, with online presale at $10 and $14 for all ages. Morris County residents get $2 off with proof of residency. Presale passes must be bought at least 24 hours ahead.
There are add ons worth knowing about: a Wibit inflatable obstacle course at $3 for a 20 minute session, paddle boats at $5 for two people or $10 for four for 30 minutes, and stand up paddleboards for ages 14 and up at $10 for 30 minutes.
The rules are stricter than a typical town pool. Swim suits are required, no gym shorts or jeans. Rafts, masks and any other aquatic equipment are prohibited. No ball playing. Children under 14 must be with an adult, and children 7 to 17 must pass a swim test to use the deep end. No animals or pets of any kind in the bathing area. Outside food and drink are fine, but no alcohol, no glass, no portable grills, and the whole facility is smoke free. Groups of 25 or more, or any group arriving by bus, must reserve ahead.
Residents only, and private
This is the part that saves you a wasted drive.
Mount Hope Pond, Burnt House Garden Road in Rockaway Township, is a township residents only swimming beach requiring a badge bought through Community Pass. The season opens Memorial Day weekend, weekends only until school lets out, then seven days until Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children five and under are free. Boating and fishing are permitted outside the beach area.
Park Lake, shared by Rockaway Borough and Rockaway Township, is genuinely public for the walking path, playground, picnic area and shoreline fishing, with a 0.7 mile paved path open to bikes and leashed dogs. But the beach area is maintained by Rockaway Borough and is members only in summer. Township residents can buy in through Rockaway Borough Recreation. In winter the lake is monitored for public ice skating when conditions allow, and the Rotary Memorial Gazebo hosts free summer concerts.
White Meadow Lake in Rockaway Township is a private property owners association community of roughly 8,700 residents with its own country club, beaches and pools. The Hoagland Mansion clubhouse is rented to residents and non residents for parties and catered events, but the lake itself is not a public swimming destination.
The same broadly applies around much of Lake Hopatcong, Mountain Lakes, Green Pond and Lake Telemark. Most of that shoreline is owned by lakefront residents, homeowner associations or private businesses. Several of these began as summer resort communities before becoming year round neighborhoods, which is exactly why the water is ringed with private frontage today.
Quick answers
Where can you swim in a lake in Morris County?
Sunrise Lake Beach Club at Lewis Morris County Park, which is open to everyone with no residency requirement, or the designated beach at Hopatcong State Park while lifeguards are on duty. Almost everywhere else is either residents only or prohibits swimming outright.
What is the biggest lake in Morris County?
Lake Hopatcong, which is also the largest freshwater lake in New Jersey at roughly four square miles. It spans Morris and Sussex counties and has only two public access points.
Can you kayak at Splitrock Reservoir?
Yes, but only car top watercraft launched from the public access parking area near the dam, with no gas motors. Shoreline fishing is prohibited and hiking off the marked trails is treated as trespass.
Which Morris County lakes allow ice fishing?
Lake Hopatcong at the state park during park hours when conditions allow, Lake Musconetcong and Lake Ames.
More of the outdoors
See our guides to the best hiking trails in Morris County, waterfalls in Morris County and where to see fall foliage. For everything else, start with our guide to all 39 Morris County towns.
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