The town will hold a June 4 Park Night at four locations as it begins updating a plan that will guide park, recreation and open-space decisions for the next several years.

MORRISTOWN, NJ – Morristown residents will have a chance to weigh in on the future of the town’s parks and open spaces during a Park Night on Thursday, June 4, 2026, as the town begins work on a new Open Space and Recreation Plan. Town representatives will be stationed at four parks from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. to hear residents’ experiences, ideas and priorities.

The town says the new plan will guide decisions about parks and open spaces for the next several years, including how Morristown thinks about recreation areas, open-space protection and future improvements. Residents who cannot attend the June 4 event can fill out an online survey and watch for additional public-input events, according to the town notice.

Park Night locations include:

• Lidgerwood Park, by the gazebo.
• Speedwell Lake Park, off Speedwell Avenue, by the playground.
• Cauldwell Playground/Pool, by the amphitheater.
• Burnham Park, off Burnham Parkway, by the gazebo.

The update follows Morristown’s prior Open Space and Recreation Plan Update, adopted on October 27, 2011. The town’s website describes that plan as a guide for open-space protection and preservation, intended to help the community pursue preservation in a systematic and cost-effective way while meeting social needs and protecting natural resources.

The 2011 plan itself updated a 2004 Open Space and Recreation Plan and said its goals included protecting water resources such as the Whippany River, Great Brook, Speedwell Lake, Burnham Pond and Footes Pond, protecting groundwater, improving existing recreation areas, preserving cultural and historic sites, creating green connections between parks and neighborhoods, and expanding trails and walkways, including Patriots’ Path and the Traction Line Recreation Trail.

Public input was also part of the previous planning process. The 2011 plan says the Environmental Commission hosted two public meetings to better understand residents’ open-space and recreation needs, with the Planning Board and Office of Sustainability also involved in identifying priorities for the municipal open-space program.

Morristown’s existing park and open-space system includes long-standing public properties that residents use for recreation and conservation. The 2011 plan said the town owned and managed 15 parcels listed on its Recreation and Open Space Inventory, totaling 161 acres, including Speedwell Lake Park, Burnham Park, Footes Pond, Budd Street Park, Abbett Avenue Park and Lidgerwood Park.

The same plan reported 236 acres of permanently protected open space, parks and recreation areas in Morristown at that time, including federal, county, municipal and nonprofit-owned land. It said that represented about 12% of the town’s 1,924 acres.

Residents can attend any of the four Park Night locations during the June 4 window. The town is asking participants to share how they use Morristown’s parks now and what priorities they want considered as the new plan is developed.