A Late-August Weekend In Boonton Township: The Tourne, Brookhollow's, And The Rockaway Valley Loop

Boonton Township is the part of the area people drive through on the way to somewhere else. The commercial Main Street sits down the hill in the Town of Boonton. The lake communities and Craftsman houses sit across the line in Mountain Lakes. What stays inside the Township lines is quieter and, in late August, more interesting than the map suggests: a working petting farm, a 546-acre county park, a garden club that has been meeting on the same Tuesday morning for years, and a stretch of Powerville Road where border collies work sheep in view of the pavement.

The argument of this guide is simple. Almost every "weekend in Boonton" write-up sends readers to Main Street. The Township's own weekend is on the other side of the ridge, on a loop most residents drive past without stopping. Here is how to actually use it before the fall calendar takes over.

Saturday Morning: The McCaffrey Lane Side Of The Tourne

Tourne County Park is the anchor. It is one of those places where the numbers are worth stating because they push against the mental picture people carry. The park covers over 550 acres, with 12 miles of trails that lead through forests, wetlands, streams, wildflowers, and animal habitats, and to heights with views. It is not a pocket park. It is not a walking loop. It is a full morning if you want it to be, and a 30-minute leg-stretch if you do not.

The address that matters is 54 McCaffrey Lane. That is the main entrance, and there is a reason to know it: you cannot drive from the west entrance to the east side of the park, because there is a gate across the road that is usually closed, so you have to enter from the correct side. Residents who have only ever come in from the Mountain Lakes side often do not realize the McCaffrey entrance opens onto a different set of trails.

A few practical notes worth carrying with you:

• McCaffrey Lane itself was designed in 1767 by Samuel Ogden and used to haul iron ore from Hibernia's mines to his ironworks in Old Boonton, so the route in is older than the Republic.
• On a clear day, hikers who climb to the top of the Tourne are rewarded with a panoramic view of the New York City skyline, and the name Tourne comes from the Dutch word meaning lookout or mountain.
• Recent storm damage has resulted in area closures and blocked trails across the park system, so check conditions before you commit to a route.
• Bring water and expect grade. The Top of the Tourne trail is short but honestly steep enough that regulars describe it as invigorating rather than easy.

The Emilie K. Hammond Wildflower Trail is the counterweight to the summit hike. It is flat, signposted, and reads more like a botanical walk than a workout, which makes it the right choice if you are moving at a kid's pace or bringing an out-of-town guest who did not pack for hills.

The Rockaway Valley Detour Most Residents Skip

From the McCaffrey Lane parking area, the drive north on Powerville Road is the part of this weekend that no guidebook will tell you about. It is worth doing slowly.

Turning north off McCaffrey Road, you pass through the iron district known as Powerville, where the Powerville Hotel, now part of an eldercare facility, still stands opposite the river, along with abandoned locks of the historic Morris Canal, before Powerville Road leads into the heart of Rockaway Valley. This is the working countryside of Morris County, and it is genuinely working.

On the eastern side of Four Corners, border collies can be seen training almost daily, herding sheep under the direction of their owner, and a llama named Tony has his own mailbox for fan letters on the split-rail fence, because the llamas serve as fierce protectors of the flocks against coyotes and bears that are known to move through the fields. If you have lived here for years and have never stopped, stop. It is the kind of scene that explains why the Township keeps its zoning where it is.

Farther along, the RFL fields sit adjacent to the home of Radio Frequency Labs, now RFL Electronics, whose subsidiary Aircraft Radio Corporation became an aviation navigation industry leader in the 1920s and 1930s. It is a strange, specific piece of history to have humming in the background of a Saturday drive.

Brookhollow's, On Its Actual Schedule

Brookhollow's Barnyard is the weekend fixture people know about, and it is also the one they get wrong. The hours are not what the internet's first result suggests, and there are two addresses, not one. Here is the operating reality for 2026:

That midweek 2:30 close catches people off guard. If you are trying to squeeze in a visit after a summer camp pickup, you have a narrower window than the weekend hours would suggest.

What actually happens on the property is more specific than "petting zoo." The most popular attraction is the walk-through feeding farm, where you buy a cup or bucket of sliced carrots to shovel-feed the animals, and the cup is yours to keep as a souvenir you can bring back on your next visit to refill. The roster runs from the usual sheep, geese, ducks, and bunnies to a llama, mules, and a zebra. Tractor and train rides run alongside the feeding areas.

One logistical note that will save an argument in the car: some visitors have real trouble locating the entrance because it is tucked away and GPS may lead them astray, so it is worth finding parking first before heading toward the main attractions.

The Garden Club Calendar, And Why It Matters In August

The rhythm most residents miss sits at 155 Powerville Road, the Municipal Building. The Rockaway Valley Garden Club generally meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 10:00 am at the Municipal Building, and guests are always welcome. It is the closest thing the Township has to a standing community calendar you can plan around, and August is the month when late-summer garden questions actually get answered by people who have been growing in this soil for decades.

There is a second reason to know the Township office. It is where Boonton Township is currently taking summer camp 2026 registration and posting notice of the Township Annual Reorganization Meeting on January 5, 2026 at 6:00 PM at the Municipal Building. If you are new here, that page is a better bookmark than any social feed.

A Loop You Can Do On One Tank

If you want the whole thing in one Saturday, drive it in this order. The route follows the topography, keeps you off the same road twice, and finishes near a coffee you can carry home.

1. Park at 54 McCaffrey Lane and hike either the wildflower trail or the summit, depending on your group.
2. Head north on Powerville Road. Slow down at Four Corners for the border collie fields.
3. Turn onto Rockaway Valley Road to 301 for Brookhollow's petting farm, or continue to 425 Powerville Road in October for the pumpkin patch.
4. Loop back past the Municipal Building at 155 Powerville, which is also where the Garden Club meets if you want to time the loop to a meeting Tuesday.
5. Drop down into the Town of Boonton for lunch.

Everything on that list is inside Township lines except the last step. That is the point. The Township has its own weekend that does not need Main Street to work.

What Changes When September Hits

The late-August window is short. Brookhollow's shifts into pumpkin mode within weeks, the 425 Powerville lot opens for picking, and school-year traffic on Powerville Road picks up sharply in the mornings. Tourne trail closures from summer storm damage will still be in effect in places, so the Wildflower Trail is a safer bet than a full ridge loop until the county clears the last of it.

For residents thinking about a house on the other side of that ridge, or wondering what a listing on Powerville Road actually trades at against comparable acreage in Denville or Kinnelon, that is a different conversation. If you would like to have it, Anne Henderson is happy to walk the property with you and put honest numbers on it. Request a complimentary home valuation when you are ready.