Lake Information

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. 

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation joined the #GivingTuesday movement on November 28 with a very special giving opportunity.  A generous, anonymous donor challenged us to raise a minimum of $5,000 through our campaign in order to qualify for a matching gift and we have met that goal thanks to you! 

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.

By Holly Odgers (LHF) - Are you a student in grades 2-12?… Do you live in one of the four towns surrounding Lake Hopatcong – Hopatcong, Jefferson, Mt. Arlington or Roxbury?… Are you interested in entering a poster contest about watershed protection?…

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. 

Leap in Lake 2017

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Event Benefits Local Special Needs Children:

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.

The Leaping Leprechauns:

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.”

The Emergency Teams (just in case):

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.

Event Date: Saturday, February 10, 2018

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

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation joined the #GivingTuesday movement on November 28 and we are so appreciative of the response we received!  To date, $4,700 in donations to our #GivingTuesday campaign have come through. 

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).

By Holly Odgers (LHF) - Restoration efforts have been chugging along at the Lake Hopatcong Train Station throughout 2017.

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

After a very successful year for Lake Hopatcong that stayed at almost full-pool throughout the summer, we are set to enter the 22” drawdown this December.

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation retained the services Princeton Hydro during the spring and summer 2017 to conduct a study to determine the relative effectiveness of various techniques to reduce nuisance densities of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV).

Donate to the LHF during the #GivingTuesday campaign before December 31, and you can help name the boat and even join a special wine and cheese voyage on the new vessel.