A Visit to the Rose Garden At Colonial Park, Somerset, New Jersey

Yesterday, I posted a review of a recent visit to Duke Farms in my town of Hillsborough, New Jersey, after visiting it with my son.  

Today, it seemed like a good idea to post a review of Colonial Park in nearby Somerset, which also is a gem of a park. My girlfriend and I visited the park yesterday afternoon.

There are some really nice parts of this park, but perhaps my favorite is the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden, which has a decent sized rose garden, a large gazebo, and several arches covered in overgrown vines, giving them a rustic, yet formal, look. I went there perhaps a month and change ago, and the scent from the roses was everywhere. That was not as much the case yesterday, although there were some parts of it that had that pleasant aroma.

However, there were more birds singing, and more butterflies going from plant to plant than I remember in previous visits, which proved quite pleasant in it's own right. 

Another part of the park is quite pleasant, as well. There is a gazebo here as well, and some flower beds nearby surrounding it. It is quite nice and aesthetically pleasing as well, although I personally still prefer the rose garden. 

Not far away is the larger part of the park, where there are other recreational activities. There is a playground for children, basketball and tennis courts, and plenty of walkways and bike routes, as well as some woods for some mild hiking. There are also some ponds, and even a water fountain in the middle of one of those ponds. Again, quite pleasant, allowing you to get away for a little while. 

Indeed, this is a very pleasant park that my girlfriend and I have gone to quite often over the course of the years, because it is very pleasant. Behind the rose garden, there is a long walkway along a canal, which feels so much like part of the park, that I included pictures of it here. When you walk along this way during the warm months, you are likely to spot some turtles on tree branches over the water, soaking up the sun. They are usually fairly easy to spot if you are looking for them.

The Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden in Colonial Park

I always loved these plants that look like they are covered in an early morning winter frost. Not sure what they are called, but they always looked spectacular to my eyes.

We've always loved this little cottage, which would not look out of place in rural Ireland or Britain somewhere. 

Some of the turtles by the canal.