Hopatcong Lake Regional News
News and Events for the Lake Hopatcong Region
February 9, 2018 | By Holly Odgers - The sky was grey and tiny snowflakes were just starting to swirl on Sunday morning, February 4, as more than 30 adults and kids gathered for an Ice Fishing 101 workshop at Hopatcong State Park. It was perfect weather, actually, for this hardy group of both experienced and aspiring winter anglers.
The annual chili cook-off was held Sunday at Patrick’s Pub to benefit Team Patrick’s Leap in the Lake that further supports special needs children at Camp Moore.
The 5th Annual Lake Hopatcong Block Party will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2018 (rain or shine!) 10 am to 5 pm at Hopatcong State Park.
The Lake Hopatcong Foundation was selected to receive an incubation grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) to conduct a front-end evaluation survey to assist us with determining what type of programming will be of most interest to the community as we prepare for the opening of the Lake Hopatcong Cultural and Environmental Center.
New in 2018, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, in cooperation with NJ DEP Division of Parks and Forestry, will be coordinating and offering community programming at Hopatcong State Park.
As the Lake Region gets ready for the big Chili Cook-Off coming up this Sunday, Hopatcong Lake Regional News had a chance to catch up with Team Patrick’s Pub.
Work by the New Jersey legislature on Monday sent the proposed Lake Hopatcong Fund to NJ Governor Chris Christie, where it is expected to be signed before he leaves office.
You are invited to a special celebration at the Windlass Restaurant to personally meet and thank Senator Tony Bucco and Assemblyman Anthony Bucco for helping us gain the $500,000 Lake Hopatcong annual fund.
The annual Leap in the Lake that Benefits Special Needs Children and Camp Moore is scheduled for this Saturday. This exciting lake event is worth your team as either a spectator or leaper.
Last year there were over 300 Lake-Leapers which is close to the record, and way up from the first year where there were only 37 that took the leap into the lake.
This event benefits people like Joey from last year 
, who was present for the Leap in the Lake festivities. It was just nine years ago where the Lake Hopatcong Elks purchased him a walker, that helped him get out of his wheelchair and allowed him to walk around his classroom.
Since that time, the Elks have continued to assist him and others, and now Joey has an IPAD courtesy once again from the Elks, where he works on his Speech, Listens to iTunes, Watches Netflix and takes his own pictures.
Joey has become very independent thanks to the assistance from the Elks and fund-raisers like the Leap in the Lake. As proof of this independence. During the last year, Joey has attended his Prom, a Halloween Party, and a Christmas Party.
Ray the Oldest Jumper:In speaking to Ray, who is 72 years old, and going through his forth Leap in the Lake. He states “I do this to stay young and to help save the children. The Lake Hopatcong Elks do so much good work, this is the least I can do to support them and their Special Needs Children. I have a thermometer mounted on my back so that I can compare this year’s event against the past years.
Also, in speaking to Jean, who was the spokesperson for the Leaping Leprechauns who is making their Fifth Leap, Lake Hopatcong Regional News asked, “It’s cold, and the water is colder, why do you do this?” Jean’s answer was simple and straight forward. “We do this to support the Lake Hopatcong Elks, as they work 24/7 to help the local community and special needs children. This event only takes us a few hours, so it’s the least we can do to support their initiatives.”
Finally, we had an opportunity to speak to the emergency teams that were on-hand, which have been with this event from the start. They indicated that over the last eight years, the only injury’s or special needs are when people who had to navigate holes cut in the ice. Luckily this year the lake was not completely frozen over, which made that a non-issue and there were no known issues.
In addition, there were special teams in the lake equipped with dry suits, to keep themselves warm, and to give them the ability to quickly rescue anyone that had an issue with the adaption to the cold water or any other issue.
Sponsored by Lake Hopatcong Elks #782
Location: Hopatcong State Park - 1:00 pm
Thaw out at our Post Leap Party at Lake Hopatcong Elks #782
201 Howard Blvd, Mt. Arlington, NJ
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Food, Raffles, Giveaways, Music & More!
All plungers will receive a complimentary ticket to the Post Leap Party and a "Leap in the Lake" shirt.
Additional Post Leap Party tickets are available for $25 per person
All proceeds to benefit the Lake Hopatcong Elks Youth Programs & Special Children's Committee
Winter’s chill may be keeping people huddled inside their homes for now, but there’s no freeze on plans for a celebration designed to help thousands of Lake Hopatcong-area neighbors warm back up in the spring.
The Knee Deep Club will hold the first 2018 Ice Fishing contest on Sunday January 21, 2017. The contest will begin at 6 AM and conclude at 4PM.The contest entry fee is $20.00 for club members and $25.00 ($20.00 fee plus $5.00 non-member fee).
The Lake Hopatcong is to receive $500,000 annually for the protection, preservation, restoration, maintenance, management and enhancement of New Jersey’s largest state-run lake
The New Jersey Boat Regulation Commission took notice of our community’s strong interest and accepted our invitation to host one of their meetings in 2018. This will be the first such meeting held at Lake Hopatcong in many years