Swayze Mill park is located in Hope NJ for all of the Hope residents to use. Since some of my family lives in Hope and I live in the town next to it, I have been going to this park since I was a child. When I have free time I always find myself at this lake. When you first pull in there is a playground to your right as you drive down the dirt road you go past a basketball court and a soccer field. Then you get into the parking lot which is gravel and takes you right up to the lake. My favorite thing to do there is to walk the trail that wraps around the entire lake. As you walk around the lake there are exercises all throughout the trail. For example there is a pull up bar, a push up bar, balance beam, and ladders. What I would do is run the trail and do each exercise and at the end of the trail there’s a small pavilion where I would do my ab workouts. But working is not the only thing I like to do there.

It’s a great environment to clear your mind. The view of the lake with the mountains and all the animals is what makes this place so peaceful. The picture above is a photo I took on a sunday morning when the sun was rising. Listening to the birds chirping and seeing the participation off the water was a great way to start my day. Swayze is also a great place to go fishing. It’s an easy lake to unload a kayak or a small motorized boat in. It’s a big enough lake to fish in different spots but not too big where you get exhausted kayaking from one side to the other. You can also fish from land while walking around the trail since the trail aligns with the water.
This place holds personal memories for me because it was my way to take a break from the stress of life and enjoy the beautiful place we live in. Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and look at what’s surrounding you to really appreciate the gift of life.
Miah Ritchie