Ocean County Park, Lakewood  

Ocean County Park (formerly the estate of John D. Rockefeller) has been hosting cross country races since the 1950's.  Many high schools used OCP for their home XC course for years including Lakewood and Brick Township High Schools.  The current cross country course was developed in 1988 for the Ocean County Championships after the course at Ocean County College was disrupted by construction on the campus.  Flat and fast, OCP race times are usually some of the fastest in the entire country!  The current record for the 5K course is well below 15 minutes.

 Holmdel Park, Holmdel

Holmdel Park, in Holmdel, is a Monmouth County Park featuring one of the most famous and challenging XC courses in the nation.  It is the location of the NJ State Group Championships and the NJ Meet of Champions since the early 1980s.  The course is challenging and features a tough uphill opening 1/4 mile with a fast downhill finish.  The Bowl is the signature feature of the course, beginning at 1.25 miles runners decend into the bowl (an open field that slopes downhill) and then acend a steep 250m incline to get out of the Bowl. Featuring the best parts of XC courses, Holmdel is often a course that runners "love to hate" due to its challenging hills and terrain.

Cherokee Challenge Course, Marlton NJ