Bridgewater, NJ, is a great city for families, those who enjoy proximity to major cities while being surrounded by natural beauty, and for anyone looking for great dining and recreational opportunities. Our team at Crème de la Crème of Bridgewater assembled this handy guide of six reasons to move here to help you with your decision to live in our beautiful city.

Family-Friendly Attractions

TD Bank Park – Somerset Patriots by Jeffrey Hayes is licensed with CC BY 2.0

Bridgewater has many great family-friendly attractions to keep everyone entertained including:

TD Bank Park — Home of the Somerset Patriots

Families and friends can enjoy gathering together to see a baseball game at TD Bank Park, home of the Somerset Patriots. This ballpark has 6,100 fixed seats and can hold up to 8,580 people total including seating for those who want to see the game from the lawn seating area. Come early to TD Bank Park and have a tailgate party before the big game so the family can have some fun bonding time.

Location: 1 Patriots Park.

Kidstreet Playground at Slattery Park

Since 1950, families have brought their youngsters to Slattery Park so they can have fun at Kidstreet Playground. Once you pass under the entrance sign, you’ll notice how all the play structures are built with wood resembling a fort. Kids can climb up the stairs into the forts, clamber over walkways between slides, and enjoy the various swing sets including baby swings.

Location: 100 Commons Way.

Great Schools

Bridgewater has a variety of public and private schools perfect for students of any age.

Private Day Care and Early Learning Center

Children from 6 weeks to 5 years old can come to Crème de la Crème of Bridgewater‘s private day care and early learning center. The school offers high-quality infant and toddler care, preschool, private kindergarten, after-school programs, and fun summer camp programs as well.

Location: 794 U.S. Highway 202.

Public Middle School and High School

Hillside Intermediate School, located at 44 Brown Road, and Bridgewater-Raritan High School at 600 Garretson Road, are part of the Bridgewater-Raritan School District. Both schools receive high praise for being part of one of the best school districts in New Jersey. Students scored high percentages for reading and math proficiency, and the high school has a very high graduation rate.

Easy Commute to Major Cities/Transportation

People who work in nearby big cities will find a relatively easy commute via the interstate freeway and highway systems and through the transit system. Mileage to major cities includes:

• 43 miles to New York City via Interstate 78 W.
• 34 miles to Newark via Interstate 78 W.
• 65 miles to Philadelphia via Interstate 95 N. and US-202 N.
• 50 miles to Hackensack via Interstate 80 and Interstate 287 S.

The New Jersey Transit System is another way to get to cities such as New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and the Jersey Shore. You can also use the Somerset County Train System for shuttles between Bridgewater and nearby towns like Bound Brook, Hillsborough, and Manville.

Wide Variety of Dining Options

From family-friendly restaurants to excellent ethnic restaurants, you and your family have many eating establishments to choose from, including:

Time To Eat Diner

Families with busy schedules will appreciate the all-hours menu offered at Time To Eat Diner. You can get your favorite breakfast served any time of the day; burgers for lunch, dinner, or a late-night snack; and appetizers, soups, and salads as a quick bite to eat before heading to the park. Kids will enjoy stopping by this restaurant for tasty desserts after seeing a movie at one of Bridgewater’s theaters or ordering something from the restaurant’s kids’ menu.

Location: 270 Route 202/206 N. 

Toscanas Italian Eatery

Everyone loves pizza and pasta, and you’ll find just what you’re craving when you stop by Toscanas Italian Eatery for a meal. The chefs use the freshest ingredients in their dishes, including items like mushrooms stuffed with crabmeat, an apple salad with goat cheese and walnuts, and of course, your favorite pizzas. You can also order subs, burgers, wraps, baked pasta dishes, and a variety of parmigiana entrees.

Location: 474 Route 28.

Wonderful Cultural Experiences

Bridgewater has several cultural centers for the family to experience arts and live performances, including:

The Brook Arts Center

Take a 10-minute drive to Bound Brook to catch a live performance at The historic Brook Arts Center. You can see a rendition of the quirky “The Addams Family,” hear live Irish music for St. Patrick’s Day, or enjoy beautiful symphony music performed by the Brook Orchestra.

Location: 10 Hamilton St. in Bound Brook.

All Children’s Art Center

Kids can express their creativity when they stop by the All Children’s Art Center in Bound Brook. Youngsters can paint, sculpt, play music, learn to dance and act, or make pottery here. When you sign up for mommy-and-me classes, you can join in the fun and create a wonderful artistic bond with your child.

Location: 15 John St. in Bound Brook.

Plenty of Recreational Opportunities

The Bridgewater area has lots of places to experience nature. From hiking to fishing and ice skating to horseback riding, you’ll find plenty of places to get outdoors.

Duke Island Park

Duke Island Park is a jewel of a park with rich natural beauty filled with hiking trails, a fishing pond, and a softball field. During the winter when the pond freezes over, the family can go ice skating and then enjoy sharing a thermos of hot chocolate at one of the covered picnic pavilions.

Location: Old York Road.

New Song Stables

Whether your kids are new to horseback riding or have experience, they’ll get a thrill riding the horses at New Song Stable. The owners of this stable offer a variety of riding lesson packages, summer camp programs, and boarding for those with horses.

Location: 656 River Road at Hidden Hills Farm in Hillsborough.

You can see why families enjoy living in Bridgewater with all it has to offer, from beautiful parks to fun family attractions. Our team at Crème de la Crème of Bridgewater hopes this list of six reasons to move to this lovely township helps you with your decision to live here.