Anyone out searching the web today knows they can find just about anything and everything dealing with whatever specific topic they are looking for. Go search for Allaire State Park on Google and see how many results come up. But, sometimes what comes up is not enough. Do you want to find a place to jog and another to bike while camping Sussex county? It is just a mess. This is where (I hope) GetOutsideNJ.com will come in.
The goal here at GetOutsideNJ.com is to catalog parks/businesses/anything that gets you outdoors in New Jersey. We then allow visitors to browse through our locations based on counties/towns within the system. A location will include about what can do in the park... where you can actually park.. if your dog is allowed.. can you play golf in the fields.. so on and so forth. You can also search by physical location (by county/zip/radius), amenity (dog park/nature center/etc), and activity (jogging/hiking/biking/mountain biking). Then each location will contain a good bit of detail (descriptions/history/etc), with added content (like maps/photos and eventually trail routes) connected to it.
Now we understand that there are different views towards sharing information about parks in NJ. Some people feel that by sharing parks and locations, that "their" little special park will be full of people and ruined. But the reverse of that is actually true. Towns, counties and the state spend huge amounts of money making our parks great. They do this as a service to the local residents, to provide open recreation space close to home. Larger parks are set up not just to preserve open space, but with the goal to also boost the local economy. When 3 people visit a year, there is no reason to continue to spend money to keep up on the maintenance on the park.
Our slogan is a playful use of a phrase that is certainly not true about NJ. And we want to show you that it Jersey does not stink, and is rather great. Please read a post about feedback that we receive about this playful use of words here.
My name is Jeff Conklin. I live in central NJ, and have been here since i was 9 years old. I love being outdoors, doing just about anything. From a simple walk around the neighborhood, to biking the trails at Ringwood. Each year i take people out camping and hiking, but I am not a paid / professional guide. maybe someday :)
On a professional level I am a web developer. I also have a background in photography. Using both of these skills, as well as my passion for being outdoors, allows me to take on the challenge of organizing all this data on my own. The true goal that I have is to share you that "Not all of Jersey stinks". The people that get away from the bigger cities know this already. I just want to help show you more proof :)