Things to Do in Paterson

The 77-foot Great Falls is the reason Paterson exists: the second largest waterfall by volume east of the Mississippi, behind only Niagara. The national park wraps the falls, the old raceways, and the mill district where America's first planned industrial city was built in 1792. Walk the overlooks, follow the paths along the gorge, and time your visit for the sunlight on the water.

Housed in the restored Thomas Rogers Locomotive Erecting Shop in the Great Falls Historic District, the museum tells the whole Silk City story: silk machinery, Colt firearms, one of John P. Holland's early submarines, minerals, and roughly 200,000 historic photographs of the city and its people. It is the best one-stop orientation to Paterson you will find.

Built in 1892 for silk baron Catholina Lambert and originally called Belle Vista, this sandstone castle crowns Garret Mountain with towers and a three-story galleried atrium. The Passaic County Historical Society ran it as a museum for decades, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The views over the valley are worth the climb alone.

A 10,000-seat Art Deco ballpark perched on the edge of the Great Falls gorge, built in 1932. It is a National Historic Landmark, the first baseball stadium ever to earn that designation, for its years as a Negro Leagues home for teams like the New York Black Yankees. After being closed for more than two decades, the stadium reopened in 2023 and is home to the New Jersey Jackals, with the Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium honoring Larry Doby and the game's Black history.