FREEHOLD, NJ – The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders have announced that the county park system will reopen on May 2nd, following the lead of Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order that will reopen state parks on the same day.

All parks will reopen for posted hours this Saturday, May 2, with reduced parking and strict social distancing requirements. Restrooms and buildings will remain closed, along with some facilities. Additional details will be posted here and on our website by Friday, May 1.

This comes just hours after the Board Of Chosen Freeholders challenged the Governor to rescind his draconian order to close parks after the closure of the Henry Hudson Transit Trail.

“When the Governor ordered the closure of all state and county parks on April 7, the Henry Hudson Transit Trail was not included as the Monmouth County Park System maintains that it is a transit way not a recreational trail. Meaning, many patrons use them to get from one place to another to perform essential functions, such as going to the grocery store, pharmacy, to get to their place of employment as essential personnel or to access public transportation,” the county said.

By design, since there are no open lawns or recreational amenities, patrons have little opportunity to congregate and Monmouth County park rangers and local police have been monitoring the trail to respond as necessary to any reports of gathering.

“It is no secret that we are opposed to the closure of our county parks, which serve as a resource for the mental health and wellbeing of our residents, but the closure of the Henry Hudson Transit Trail is even more significant as it deals directly with the safety of our residents,” the freeholders said. “The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders truly hopes that the New Jersey Attorney General will reconsider this closure as we are sure he would agree that the last thing we want to do during this global pandemic is put more lives at risk. Further, we strongly urge Governor Murphy to reconsider the closure of all County parks.”

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