521 Route 520, Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-842-4000, ext. 4312
Park Map | Tick Advisory Park opens at 7 a.m. daily, year round.
Closing time is 8:30 p.m. through April 28; 9 p.m. April 29-May 26; and 9:30 p.m. May 27-July 21.
Visitor Advisory
Visitors are urged not to leave valuables in their cars and to notify Park Rangers of any suspicious activity in parking lots. To reach a Park Ranger, contact the County emergency communications center at 732-577-8700.
Named for Big Brook, which drains into the Swimming River Reservoir, this park contains young wetland and maturing American beech, white oak, tulip poplar and hickory trees as well as fields of grasses, goldenrod and other perennials that provide habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife.
Its rolling hills and open meadows make the park a popular destination for hikers, cyclists and wildlife enthusiasts. The park offers ideal access to the southern extension of the Henry Hudson Trail. A number of projects are in the works to make the site more suitable for hosting activities and summer camps.
The outdoor swimming pool was renovated in 2018. The pool will be available for use by Park System summer camps as well as community groups participating in our RecAssist for Groups Program. There are no immediate plans to open the pool for swim lessons or open swim.
Park History
The original 432 acre parcel of land that established Big Brook Park was formerly used as farmland for patients at the Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital, located across the street (Route 520). The Park System purchased this property—which once contained a piggery, dairy farm and other agricultural operations—from the state in 1997, around the time the hospital closed. The park was also home to the former YMCA Camp Arrowhead.
Fossil Collecting
Visitors are welcome to hunt for fossils in Big Brook. Access is from the Boundary Road parking lot. Rules governing fossil hunting and collecting are listed here.
See our Supplemental Rules Governing the Hunting and Collecting of Fossils at Big Brook Park.
In accordance with New Jersey’s Smoke Free Air Act, all Monmouth County parks are tobacco free. The ban applies to cigarettes, pipes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and vaporize cigarettes, as well as smokeless tobacco such as snuff and chew.