I grew up in the neighborhood just south of the abandoned parking lot. We would walk through the woods to get to JH. Looks like you were walking through a section of the park called Jungle Junction. More like an interactive part of the park with rides, shops, food and live shows. The train tracks you saw were actually for a ride featuring small individual zebra striped jeeps so riders could feel like they were on a mini safari. The platforms and small pools alongside the tracks were for mechanical animals like a rhino, lion or hippo that would articulate as the riders passed buy. In this part of the park there were workers in costumes depicting Warner Brother characters (Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, ETC) similar to what you'd see at Disney. This was a playground for us kids who grew up there in the 70's and 80's. After it was abandoned that parking lot was a great place to sleigh ride! I haven't been back there in over 40 years. Amazing to see how the forest has reclaimed it.

I remember sitting in the bleachers, for a few shows. That footage you got of it blew my mind. Thank you, Ray.

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your memories. I'm glad you enjoyed my video

Brings back memories. I was there back in the 70's when it opened. I wish I could remember what you are showing. All I remember was doing around in a school bus going thru seme of the enclosures on the other side of the park..

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

That's really cool that you were able to go when it was still open. Thank you for sharing these memories of this place.

The train track going into the forest is very eerie yet very cool. Love this! The tunnels are awesome.

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Very eerie place indeed!

Jungle Habitat is a very popular mountain biking and hiking park now and is even maintained by New Jersey's mountain bike volunteer organization (JORBA). I ride there a couple of times a year. JORBA's also had mountain bike festivals there in that big parking lot.

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed! This is now a park accessible to the pubic. On the day I went, I was completely alone for most of my day, until I heard a guy walking his dog. It really startled me!

Wow, I remember going there once or twice when we moved up to the lake Hopatcong area from Jersey city back in the early 70’s This video is so cool, I’d love to go up there and do some exploring. The fact that there are still old fences and old buildings that may have been snack shops or souvenirs out in the middle of the woods is just totally amazing, and like you said… kind of creepy. In the still of the silence and the woods, you can just see and hear the crowds and the smiles that once was 50 years ago. Thanks for posting!!

@RayOutThere

2 жыл бұрын

I would have loved to have seen this place when it was in operation, that's really cool that you were able too. This was definitely one of the weirder places I've been too. Thanks for watching!

@2linepass1

2 жыл бұрын

@@RayOutThere it’s too bad it was only open for 4 years. What’s crazy is that there have been animal sightings over the years that could be descendants from the animals that escaped, and amazing that they’re still in the area. Watching your video, I kept on thinking how creepy, in a cool way it was, and I’m sure you were totally alert to your surroundings. And then there’s Wild West city in Stanhope that was open in 1957 and is still open today. I have a picture of me and my dad when my parents and grandmother took me, I was 3 years old, 1966. We still lived in jersey city at the time but for a few years my dad would rent the same bungalow on lake Hopatcong from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It cost $300 for the season. Go figure lol My father worked in the city so he would stay home in jersey city and come up on weekends. My parents loved the area so much that they bought a house in Mt Arlington, east side of lake Hopatcong and he also bought the bungalow and in the mid 70’s we moved to the house in Mt Arlington and my grandparents moved to the bungalow where they lived until they passed away in the 80’s There’s a golf course not too far from Wild West city that I go to throughout the spring to get the kinks out before I go full force on the Morris county 18 hole courses, and when I pass by Wild West city, it brings back memories of when I was a child. Then of course there was Bertrand’s island amusement park. As a child we used to go and I would ride the kiddie rides. And I had the pleasure of working there for 4 summers in the late 70’s when I was in high school. Unfortunately due to poor ownership who just let it go, it was closed and torn down and became $million townhomes

@RayOutThere

Жыл бұрын

@Dirk Digler I'm banning you, racist troll

@Nicole_Levi

Жыл бұрын

Funny I live in jc and looking maybe moving to Hopatcong area.

@2linepass1

Жыл бұрын

@@Nicole_Levi nice, where in Hopatcong are you looking?

Pretty awesome, thanks Ray . I’m going to need to visit it soon

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Check it out! It's very eerie

I was there a couple times when I was a kid but nothing is recognizable now. I'm pretty sure my brothers and I went on the train ride though. I gotta say that there's no way I'd be walking around the woods in West Milford in the fall by myself without any Bear Spray. North Jersey has THE densest population of Black Bears per square mile in the USA

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing the memories! And yes I really do need to get some bear spray but I'm not sure its legal in NJ. I had a bear sighting at Buttermilk Falls that was too close for comfort.

@gtf2648

3 жыл бұрын

@@RayOutThere You're not gonna give a shit if it's legal or not when you come across a Mama Bear with Cubs...

@MotorcyclingxxxNinja

3 жыл бұрын

@@gtf2648 If your unlucky enough to come across a mother bear and her Cubs she will not give a shit ab bear spray

Went to this place as a child. A rino began blowing smoke from his nostrils and my dad turned the car around and got out of there. LOL

I went to Jungle Habitat with a friend and her father, when I was in the seventh grade in 1972, the first year it was open. The only things I remember is her father saying we should look for out of state license plates in the parking lot, and my friend saying, "They're all from New Jersey!" and her father taking a crappy Polaroid photo of a hippo and saying that he thought it came out pretty well.

I was born in 84 in west milford, my mom 60 she told me stories about going there in the 70s. My dad was friends with jack i believe his name was when i was like 5 i remember not wanting to go to school because because it was creepy lol so he took me to jacks house with him. Anyway i personally never saw any of this though. So crazy to imagine what it was like in the 70s

I went the year it opened. I remember they would tell you to turn your radio on to a particular station and then they would broadcast info to you as you road thru.

The Bears all around West Milford there were tons of them. A lot of people don't know are bears or tracked and numbered. We had a beer in West Milford the name and Thumper because he had a problem with his paw.. there were days where we parents couldn't let our children go out and play the mama bear would be there with her Cubs playing in the swimming pools are climbing the trees and you had either Wait For Mama Bear and her Cubs to leave or you would have to call up the pound tell him what was going on they would bring tranquilizer guns and take them back out to the woods. West Milford people did a lot of videos online of what we parents went through when our kids were little with the Bears. I miss New Jersey and their days and want to go back home thanks for doing this video you bought a lot of memories back for me.

@RayOutThere

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Wow just wow I went there when I was a kid I gotta,dig up pics

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

That would be really cool!

Nice video! looks creepy, especially those tunnels. It's weird that when it closed everything was just left there in the woods!

@RayOutThere

Жыл бұрын

This place was so eerie!

@cloudeye7

Жыл бұрын

Oh i believe it!!

It was extremely disgraceful what they did, they were mixing different species together and they had the wrong type of landscape for many of the animals and they never gave that any consideration. There was just no independent open areas for each different kind of animal. Extremely shameful !

@RayOutThere

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I heard that the conditions here were terrible for the animals.

Awesome video man. I was wondering what was left.

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Interesting but I had to fast forward you walking thru that tunnel. Surprised it was not put up for sale and purchased by now.

@PsiFire1

2 жыл бұрын

It was - purchased by NJ in 1988 and now part of the state parks.

It's a great place to mountain bike.

Anyone know if this spot is still open to public, wanna shoot a music video there?

Amazing video! I’ve been there in real life but this was like a true interactive tour!

I like zoos but they are not always good for the animals. Sad and kinda creepy.

I wanna check this place out. Where do you suggest parking? Or what road do I go down to check it out?

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

Check out Airport Road in West Milford. You can park at the former entrance to the park, but its gated off. I recommend bringing a bike because its a lot of walking.

I’m on my way up there now with my German Shepard ( Stella) from the Bronx who has one of the best zoos in the country. My mom took me and my sis there on August 24th 1975 I know that date because I have a picture with two parrots at jungle habitat

That train line might have been a car ride. I remember they had little electric cars with tiger stripes on them that went on a track. I'm not sure if I am confusing it with a merry go round type of ride or not.

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

That would make sense, I've seen there logo was a zebra striped Jeep.

@epaddon

2 жыл бұрын

@@RayOutThere It was a car ride. I went there at age 7 in 1976, it's last year of operation and my one vivid memory of the place is that car ride and getting shouted at because at one point I stood up inside my vehicle!

i was there in 74 or 75 when it was open

i would have been nervous walking around that empty zoo. could have came across a black bear.

That's pretty bad I can remember jungle habitat back when I was a kid

Not a train track..was for self steering kid cars

A Yeti!!!

@RayOutThere

3 жыл бұрын

My attempt at an Expedition Everest joke

@abandonedroadside

3 жыл бұрын

I was there in Nov and missed the tracks.

Creepy asf

I heard that some if the animals were just left there

@RayOutThere

2 жыл бұрын

I've heard that they left animals to die, or let them roam free. I don't know how true that is though.

You’re very lucky that you weren’t arrested by the west Milford Police Department for trespassing

@danarussell4246

Жыл бұрын

It's a county or state park now free to go there. There are a lot of mountain bike trails through the park now. I've been there 3 times in the last 5 months with my granddaughter, granddog, dog and wife. Each time we take different paths and try to find something new. I can't wait to go back in the fall.

@yerrlyn

Жыл бұрын

@@danarussell4246 where is a safe place to park. Im going tomorrow and want to avoid risking getting a ticket.

@danarussell4246

Жыл бұрын

@@yerrlyn There is a free parking lot right off Airport Road. Just beyond the parking lot is a big gate. There has always been a few cars there but rarely do you see anyone. Have a great time exploring.