| High Point State Park | |
|---|---|
 High Point Monument | |
  Location in United States Show map of the United States Location in North America Show map of North America.svg) Location on Earth Show map of Earth | |
| Location | Wantage Township andMontague Township,Sussex County,New Jersey |
| Nearest city | Port Jervis,New York |
| Coordinates | 41°17′45″N74°41′20″W / 41.29583°N 74.68889°W /41.29583; -74.68889[1] |
| Area | 15,413 acres (62.37 km2) |
| Established | 1923 |
| Administered by | New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry |
| Website | Official website |
High Point State Park is a state park straddling the border ofWantage Township andMontague Township inSussex County, within theSkylands Region of northwesternNew Jersey, United States, near the border withNew York State andPennsylvania. The park covers 15,413 acres (62.37 km2). Part of theKittatinny Mountains, the highest point in the state ofNew Jersey, the aptly namedHigh Point, sits in the northern reaches of the park, at elevation 1,803 feet (550 m).Route 23 skirts the park and provides access for visitors from the New Jersey suburbs and from points in New York. The park is administered by theNew Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
As of the 2023 season, entrance to the park is free.[2]
High Point Monument, built at the summit, offers views of farmland and forest, hills and valleys in three states, out to theDelaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, where theDelaware River separates the ridges of New Jersey from those ofPennsylvania. High Point offers trails forhiking andcross-country skiing and areas forcamping andfishing.
The land for High Point State Park, donated byColonel Anthony R. and Susie Dryden Kuser, was dedicated as a park in 1923. The pleasant landscaping was designed by theOlmsted Brothers of Boston, a prominent landscape architectural firm of that time. The brothers were the sons ofFrederick Law Olmsted, who designedCentral Park.[3]
To the south, theAppalachian Trail follows a rocky ridge which has views of the valleys and mountains surrounding the area. To the north, the trail drops off the ridge through hemlock gorges into former agricultural fields with a view of the surrounding countryside and the High Point Monument in the distance.[4]
The monument was built to honor war veterans, through the generosity of the Kusers. Construction began in 1928 and completed in 1930. At the top of the 220 feet (67 m) structure (the base is 34 square feet (3.2 m2)), observers have views of the ridges of thePocono Mountains toward the west, theCatskill Mountains to the north and theWallkill River Valley in the southeast.[5] At the top of New Jersey's tallest knob, the Monument is anobelisk monument similar to other war monuments, such as the one located onBreed's Hill inMassachusetts.
