I think it’s fair to assume that everyone has a place they constantly drive past but never actually visit. Cheesequake State Park in Matawan, NJ is that place for us. Right off of exit 120 on the Garden State Parkway, we finally made time to actually spend an afternoon at Cheesequake. Let’s just say we were pleasantly surprised. Growing up in Monmouth County, we’ve had friends that lived within five minutes of this park and we’ve driven past it on the GSP hundreds of times, and yet, it took until 2025 to finally go. What we found was a nice park you can easily spend a day or more at and have a great time doing so.

While it’s not one of the biggest parks, there is a lot you can do at Cheesequake. Activities such as hiking, biking, swimming and camping are enough to keep everyone busy. Hunting is also an option with the correct permit.

If you’re planning on visiting during the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, there is a fee to enter. During the week, it’s $5 for NJ residents and $10 for non-residents. On weekends, the price doubles. Any other time during the rest of the year is completely free.

The park is split by the Parkway so there are two different sections. On the Northbound side, you’ll find all of the hiking trails, the Group Camping Area, picnic areas and Hooks Creek Lake. On the Southbound side, you have the Farry Point and Spring Hill picnic areas as well as the Family Camping Area.

For anyone interested in learning more about the diverse habitat and wildlife as well as the history of the area, the Interpretive Center is open year-round and is at the beginning of the Red, Blue and Green Trail.

Before getting into the trails, an important reminder or piece of advice is to pay attention for Poison Ivy! Being in NJ, there is plenty of it at this park and they do have signs throughout. Also, on that note, the trails have plenty of interpretive signs explaining some of the plants and trees so there are lots of chances to learn something new here!

The trail system at Cheesequake is super easy to follow. Colorfully named trails with very clear markings throughout the trail make it almost impossible to get lost. The best part is, depending on which parking lot you choose, you can access the trailhead to all but one of the trails, which is located a little further down the road. We’d recommend parking at the Gordon Road Lot if your main focus is hiking. Four of the trailheads can be accessed from here.

There are five trails to choose from: Yellow, Red, Blue, Green and White. All are meant for walking and hiking but the White Trail also allows bikes. The White Trail is also the only one that is accessed from it’s own parking lot.

Since all of the trails, except the White, are connected, you can choose to hike them individually or combine them into a longer route. We opted for the latter, starting with the Green Trail.

At 3 miles long, the Green Trail is the longest in the park, winding through tree-covered paths and surrounded by marsh land for most of the way. It begins combined with the Red and Blue trails until you reach a point to only continue on the Green. After about two miles, the trail reaches the Group Camping Area, where we were able to reconnect with the Red and Blue Trails and continue our hike from there.

This trail includes plenty of boardwalks, but there are also sections that can get very muddy after rain. We had to navigate around some pools of water along the way so it’s definitely something to keep in mind when choosing your footwear. Hiking boots are definitely a good idea here.

Starting from the same parking area on Gordon Road, you can also access the Red and Blue Trails. The Red Trail is 1.3 miles long, while the Blue Trail stretches 2.7 miles. You’ll never be on the Red Trail alone as it’s always combined with either the Green or Blue Trails. Like the Green, the Red offers a tree-covered landscape and access to the group campsite. The Blue Trail, on the other hand, provides a nice change of scenery and showcases a different side of the park.

After rejoining the Red and Blue Trails, we continued until the Blue Trail eventually split off on its own. Not long after following the Blue Trail, you’ll come across Perrine Pond, a peaceful spot, but be prepared for a lot of bugs, especially in the warmer months.

Right before you get to the pond, there is also this cool looking tree with exposed roots.

After the pond, you’ll follow the trail until you get to the Hooks Creek area, where the creek winds through a wide open field. If you’re lucky, which we weren’t, you’ll be able to spot Bald Eagles and Ospreys here depending on the time of year. There is also a crabbing bridge if you’re looking for fresh crab.

Once you’re past the boardwalk, you’ll have access to the Hooks Creek Lake Parking Lot. You’ll find plenty of parking as well as a playground, picnic tables, a bathroom and a charging station for your car. This will also bring you to the Hooks Creek Lake Beach.

If you are looking to continue hiking, the trailhead for the Yellow Trail is also here.

At just one mile long, the Yellow Trail begins at the Hooks Creek Lake Parking Lot and takes you past the beach and lake. After that, the trail leads back into the forest, eventually ending at the Gordon Road Parking Lot.

Swimming is allowed at the Hooks Creek Lake Beach, but only during the summer months when a lifeguard is on duty.

The White Trail is 2 miles long and located in it’s own area of the park. There is a parking lot off State Park Road where you can access the trail from. Bikers are allowed on this trail so make sure to be alert.

Unfortunately, we had to head out for dinner plans the day we were here so we didn’t get the chance to hike this trail. Next time!

There are two areas to choose from for camping; the Family Camping Area and the Group Camping Area. Here’s a brief desciption below but for more information and to reserve one, check out the NJ camping site.

This area includes 53 tent and trailer sites and is open from April 1st – October 31st. There are picnic tables, toilets and showers at this campsite.

Group campsites also include picnic tables and toilets but there are no showers. Each site can accomodate up to 25 people.

We didn’t spend an entire day here but we were able to hike about five miles. We saw as much as possible in the short amount of time we had and enjoyed every minute of it. To think it took us this long to finally visit is crazy to us.

Here’s a map of the route we took:

To be honest, we thought being this close to the Parkway would never really give us the peace and quiet like other parks, but we were completely wrong. The trails weren’t too crowded, at least not when we went. You’ll run into other people every once in a while but we mostly had the trails to ourselves. To top it all off, you can’t hear the noise from the Parkway at all. You really do get to just enjoy being out in nature.

With all that being said, given how local this park is to us, we’ll definitely be making the trip back one day when we have some free time.