Places of Interest for Children in Mercer County

Playgrounds
Note: Besides township playgrounds and those connected with parks, we’ve included a description of playgrounds connected with elementary schools. These playgrounds are open to the public after school hours, on weekends, and during the summer.

Name	Township	Location	Comments
Hopewell Borough Park	Hopewell	S. Greenwood Ave., just off of Route 518 in the center of town	Playground is perfectly proportioned for smaller children.
Hopewell Elementary School	Hopewell	35 Princeton Ave., off Route 518 609-466-0272	Challenging climbing area with large tires.
Rosedale Park	Hopewell	Off Federal City Rd. near Blackwell Rd. 609-989-6536	472 acres include a 38-acre lake stocked with trout. Great for a family picnic.
Ben Franklin School	Lawrenceville	2939 Princeton Pike 609-530-8446	Large, imaginative climbing equipment with towers, fast slides, tire tunnels.
Colonial Lake Park	Lawrenceville	Route 1, across from Lawrenceville Shopping Center	Nice park for feeding ducks.
Eldridge Park School	Lawrenceville	55 Lawn Park Ave. Off Route 206, just north of Notre Dame High School. 609-530-8446	Two play areas, one for kindergarten with a small wooden climbing frame and slide.
Lawrence Elementary School	Lawrenceville	40 Craven Lane, Off Route 206, across from Lawrenceville School. 609-530-8452	Climbing frame with rings, tunnels, tire swing, slide and cargo net. Safely away from busy streets.
Slackwood Elementary School	Lawrenceville	2060 Princeton Pike, South of Lawrenceville Shopping Center. 609-530-8477	Swings, slide and soccer field.
Village Park	Lawrenceville	Yeger Dr. and Bergen St.	Nice climbing and swing equipment. Varied ground surface - grass and wood chips
Kunkel Park	Pennington	King George Rd.	5-acre park with playground, covered picnic areas, bathrooms, and a lovely stream.
Tollgate Grammar School	Pennington	275 South Main St. 609-737-0178	Climbing frames with spiral slides and chutes. Lots of room for bike riding.
Community Park Elementary School	Princeton	372 Witherspoon St. 609-806-4230	Huge play area made of old tires. Bright plastic climbing frame with slides.
Erdman Park (a/k/a Theodore R. Potts Playground)	Princeton	Corner of Erdman and Tee-Ar Place, off North Harrison St.	Sandbox, brightly colored climbing frame with 3 slides, 6 sling swings, 3 baby swings and rocking animals.
Harrison Street Park	Princeton	Just south of Nassau St. at intersection with Harrison.	3.5-acre park with open fields, wading pool and picnic area. Six baby swings, sandbox, and slides.
Johnson Park Elementary School	Princeton	285 Rosedale Rd., west of the Great Rd. 609-806-4240	Three climbing frames with slides, tunnels, rickety bridges, towers and balancing platforms.
Littlebrook Elementary School	Princeton	39 Magnolia Lane 609-806-4250	Fantastic area behind school, with 5 major climbing frames including a tower with periscope.
Marquand Park	Princeton	Lovers Lane	17-acre park with beautiful trees and walks. Small play area with slide for young children. Large sandbox , climbing frame.
Riverside Elementary School	Princeton	58 Riverside Dr. 609-806-4260	Large paved area great for bike riding, roller skating, etc. Large telephone pole type climbing frame, wavy slide, swings.
Montgomery Park	Rocky Hill	Harlingen Rd., off 206 North	Highly recommended. Two playground areas to suit both toddlers and 4-year olds.
Dutch Neck Elementary School	West Windsor	392 Village Rd. East 609-716-5400	Swings, two large slides, climbing frame with slides, picnic tables.
Hawk Elementary School	West Windsor	Clarksville Rd. 609-716-5425	Situated behind the school, and well away from busy streets. Swings, two climbing frames, slides.

Name	Township	Location	Comments
Delaware & Raritan Canal Park	Somerset	67-mile linear state park extends from Frenchtown to Trenton and from Trenton to New Brunswick. 908-873-3050	Enjoy hiking, bike riding, horseback riding, picnicking, camping, boating, fishing and canoeing.
Washington Crossing State Park	Hopewell	355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Rd. 609-737-0623	841 acres of hiking trails, picnic areas, playground and bridle paths. Cross-country skiing, sledding, and ice skating in winter.
Rosedale Park	Hopewell	Off Federal City Rd., near junction of Blackwell Rd. 609-989-6536	472 acres include a lake, picnic area, nature walks, and a playground.
Princeton Battlefield Park	Princeton	Princeton Pike 609-737-0623	Large, open area, with paths into wooded areas. Nice for walking or picnics.
John A. Roebling Park	Hamilton	Schiller Ave. or Park Ave., over Westcott Ave.	257-acre natural park with fresh water marsh and 18-acre lake, bird watching, and small picnic area.
Mercer County Park	West Windsor, Hamilton, and Lawrence	Entrances are on Hughes Dr., Edinburg Rd., and South Post Rd. 609-989-6540	This park encompasses over 2500 acres. It has year round facilities for all ages which included twelve softball fields, seven soccer fields, championship baseball fields, and 18 basketball half-courts.

Name	Township	Location	Comments
Howell Living History Farm	Hopewell	101 Hunter Rd. Off Route 29, South of Lambertville 609-737-3299	Administered by the Mercer County Park Commission, this 126-acre property is run as a farm of the period 1900-1910. Saturday programs throughout the year geared to the season.
Grover Farms	Hopewell	Village Road Dutch Neck 609-799-1195	Strawberry picking and snap peas. Take your own containers. Usually available in early June. Pumpkins in autumn.
Lee Turkey Farm	East Windsor	Hickory Corner Rd., Hightstown 609-448-0629	Pleasant farm with more than turkeys. Strawberries, apples and pumpkins to pick in season. Playground and pond located across the road from farm.
Longstreet Farm	Holmdel, Monmouth County	Longstreet Rd. 732-842-4000; 732-946-3758	Part of Holmdel Park, farm includes nature trails, an arboretum, and activity center. Farmhouse museum restored to the year 1890.
Pennytown	Hopewell	Route 31, Pennington	Small shopping area with pond, goats, lots of ducks to feed. Vending machines sell animal feed.
Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association	Hopewell	31 Titus Mill Rd. Pennington 609-737-7592	585-acre reserve with nature walks and education center. Live animals include snakes and turtles.
Terhune Orchard	Princeton	330 Cold Soil Rd. 609-924-2310	Apple picking and pumpkin picking in season. Fresh produce, cider, pies, and flowers available for sale. A farm trail to hike.
West Windsor U-Pick	West Windsor	1220 Windsor Rd. 609-443-9379	Fresh produce. Pumpkin picking and Halloween hay rides, petting zoo and pumpkin painting.

Name	Township	Location	Comments
Civil War & Native American Museum	Hamilton	2202 Kuser Rd. 609-585-8900
The Contemporary Club Victorian House Museum	Trenton	176 West State St. 609-392-9727	By reservation
The Ely House/Hightstown Museum	West Windsor	Hightstown 609-371-9580
Grounds for Sculpture	Hamilton	18 Fairgrounds Rd. 609-586-0616	A 22-acre world class sculpture park and museum.
Hopewell Museum	Hopewell	28 East Broad St. 609-466-0103
New Jersey State Museum	Trenton	205 West State St. 609-292-6464	Weekend shows at planetarium.
Old Barracks Museum	Trenton		Restored 1758 Barracks and Officer’s House.
Princeton University Art Museum	Princeton	609-258-3787	Features collections of African, Asian, Pre-Columbian, and more.
Princeton University Museum of Natural History	Princeton	609-258-4102
Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie Mansion	Trenton	Cadwalader Park 609-989-3632	Permanent collection of Trenton pottery. Exhibitions by area artists.
William Trent House	Trenton	15 Market St. 609-989-3027	Oldest building in the city, built in 1719.

This list is based on various materials held in the Mercer County Library System, including Mary S. McCormack's Princeton for under fives: a guide to the greater Princeton area for families with young children. (Princeton, NJ: The Family Resource Center, 1994)

Sovereign Bank Arena	Trenton	Hamilton Ave. and Broad St. 609-656-3399	Home to Trenton Titans hockey team.
Waterfront Park	Trenton	1 Thunder Rd. 609-394-TEAM	Home of Trenton Thunder baseball team.

Bicycle Advocate NJ DOT	Trenton	609-292-2121	Tour maps available for area.
Princeton Freewheelers	Princeton	609-882-4PFW	Maps, route designations, and touring information.
Trenton Cycling Revolution	Trenton	609-393-5656	Making the city bicycle friendly.

College of New Jersey	Ewing	609-771-2230
Mercer County Community College	West Windsor	609-586-4800 x 3741
Princeton University	Princeton	609-258-5655
Rider University	Lawrence	609-896-5138

Hopewell Valley Tennis & Swim Club	Hopewell	609-737-3600
Mercer County Public Indoor Tennis Center	Ewing, West Windsor	Ewing- 609-883-5768 West Windsor- 609-448-8007
Mercer County Public Outdoor Tennis Center	West Windsor	609-448-8007 Mercer County Park

Kelsey Theatre	West Windsor	Mercer County Community College Phone: 609-586-4800	Full season of hour- long live theatre for children, full-length events for families.
Patriots Theater War Memorial	Trenton	Memorial Drive Trenton, NJ Phone: 609-984-8400	Selected events for children
McCarter Theatre	Princeton	91 University Place Princeton, NJ 08540 Phone: 609-984-8400	Selected programs for children