Hilltop Reservation

The Hilltop Reservation is a nature preserve located in Essex County, New Jersey. It has over 200 square acres, and is the most recent addition to the Essex County Parks System. It is composed of lands formerly occupied by the Essex Mountain Sanatorium, a hospital center originally constructed in the early 1900s to treat tuberculosis patients.

The land was designated a Conservation Easement in 2001 by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, permanently dedicating it for conservation and passive recreation purposes, and thereby protecting it from any future development.

In 2003, additional area was dedicated, bringing the Reservation’s total to 284.16 acres (1.004 km²). This addition to the County’s official NJ Green Acres Recreation and Open Space Inventory brings the current total area of the Essex County Parks System to 6,010.52 acres (24.32 km²).

Portions of the land, particularly some smaller parcels which are not contiguous with the main area, are to be dedicated to recreational use by the host communities.

The [http://www.HilltopConservancy.org Hilltop Conservancy] is a local group dedicated to the preservation of this area.