Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey

Geography

The Lake Hopatcong CDP occupies the southwest end of Jefferson Township in western Morris County. It is bordered to the west by the borough of Hopatcong and to the north by Sparta, both in Sussex County. It is partially bordered to the south by the borough of Mount Arlington and slightly by the Lower Berkshire Valley CDP.

Lake Hopatcong, the water body, occupies part of the western boundary of the CDP, while the northernmost arm of the lake is entirely within the CDP. Lakefront communities in the CDP include Espanong, Prospect Point, Raccoon Island, Halsey Island, Woodport, and Brady Cove. Inland communities in the CDP include Hurdtown, Tierneys Corner, and Berkshire Valley. Lake Shawnee is in the northeast part of the CDP.

New Jersey Route 15 passes through the eastern side of the CDP, leading south 4 mi to Interstate 80 in Wharton and north 6 mi to Sparta.

Liffy Island (sometimes spelled as "Lify") is located within the CDP and has many walking trails and great views. The island was formed after the creation of the Morris Canal that raised the water by 12 to, thus detaching it from the mainland. In the 19th century, the island and surrounding lands were purchased by the Brady Brothers. They sold some of the island's trees as lumber but otherwise left it in its natural state. About 77 acres of the island was bought by Richmond Boy Scout Council Executive Major Walter S. Stewart and Charles McAteer in 1922. They named it "Scout Island" and used it for the Boy Scouts program until 1982. The camp's cook, William "Pete" Peterson, was given lifetime rights to use the island. In the 1970s, William's heath declined which kept him from visiting the island which left it unattended for years. In the 1990s, Jefferson Township, in which Lake Hopatcong CDP is located, bought the island and established it as the Liffy Island Wildlife Preserve. There is a path from Prospect Park and the Prospect Point Road Trailhead that leads to the island. At the highest point is a firepit and sitting area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Lake Hopatcong CDP had a total area of 9.39 sqmi, of which 7.39 sqmi were land and 2.00 sqmi (21.34%) were water. The lake, with an outlet 2 mi to the southwest into the Musconetcong River, is part of the Delaware River watershed.

Demographics

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

The community first appeared as an unincorporated community under the name Esponong in the 1960 U.S. census

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Lake Hopatcong include:

• Tim Jacobus (born 1959), artist best known for illustrating the covers for nearly one hundred books in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series
• Jaren Sina (born 1994), professional basketball player, who played for Astoria Bydgoszcz of the Polish Basketball League

References

References

1. "2024 U.S. Gazetteer Files: New Jersey". United States Census Bureau.
2. [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/lakehopatcongcdpnewjersey/ QuickFacts Lake Hopatcong CDP, New Jersey], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed June 21, 2023.
3. [https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocodes/?state=34 Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey], Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
4. {{Cite gnis. 2806109. Lake Hopatcong Census Designated Place
5. [https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/tab20/tigerweb_tab20_cdp_2020_nj.html State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.
6. [https://lakehopatconghistory.com/lify-island/ Lify Island], Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, November 12, 2018. Accessed January 7, 2025.
7. [https://www.jeffersontownship.net/641/Trail-System Liffy Island], [[Jefferson Township, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 7, 2025.
8. [https://www.jeffersontownship.net/DocumentCenter/View/5632/Proposed-Trail-System-Map Trails System; Existing and Proposed Trails], [[Jefferson Township, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 7, 2025.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
10. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
11. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
12. "1970 Census of Population - Charecteristics of the Population - New Jersey".
13. "1980 Census of Population - Volume 1 - Characteristics of the Population - Number of Inhabitants - New Jersey".
14. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
15. "2000 Census of Population and Housing - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
16. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
17. and [[1970 U.S. census]]. It did not appear in subsequent censuses until it was listed as a [[census designated place]] under the name '''Lake Hopatcong''' in the [[2020 United States census]].[https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/geography_changes/2020-Geography-Changes.xlsx 2020 Geography Changes], [[United States Census Bureau]]> Accessed September 26, 2025.
18. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lake Hopatcong CDP, New Jersey".
19. Izzo, Michael. [https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/local/morris-county/2015/10/25/goosebumps-cover-artist-living-budd-lake/74275656/ "''Goosebumps'' cover artist living in Budd Lake"], ''[[Daily Record (New Jersey). Daily Record]]'', October 26, 2015. Accessed September 25, 2024. "Jacobus, 56, has been a Morris County resident his whole life, living in Denville and Lake Hopatcong before settling in Budd Lake."
20. Lestinsky, Marc. [https://patch.com/new-jersey/jefferson/jefferson-student-hits-basketball-big-time "Jefferson Student Hits Basketball Big Time; Breakout 2010-11 season has netted Jefferson resident national attention."], Jefferson, NJ [[Patch Media. Patch]], August 9, 2011. Accessed October 13, 2021. "Jefferson native and bona fide basketball star-in-the-making Jaren Sina admitted to being something of an unknown to most outsiders entering his freshman year at Gill St. Bernard's School (Gladstone) in 2009.... The 17-year-old kid from little-known Lake Hopatcong can play."