Find pickleball courts in Montclair and Essex County, NJ
Photo: Sanket Mishra / Pexels
Quick answer (verified 2026-10-09): Montclair Township itself has no public pickleball courts we could verify. In February 2026 the council dropped pickleball from its Canterbury Park grant plan after neighbors raised noise concerns. The go-to public option is Essex County's Brookdale Park on the Bloomfield–Montclair line. Court reservations there run through Elite Tennis (973-744-7060). Essex County also lists pickleball at Grover Cleveland Park (Essex Fells), and county releases mention courts at Branch Brook Park's Althea Gibson complex (Newark) and Verona Park.
Montclair, in one paragraph
Montclair has a famous pickleball academy, a busy pickleball community and, as of this writing, no township-owned pickleball courts. That isn't for lack of trying. A Mountainside Park plan once proposed turning a tennis court into four pickleball courts, and Canterbury Park's 2026 grant plan included courts until the council cut them over noise. (The fight is real. We wrote about keeping the peace with neighbors.) So Montclair players go county: Brookdale is a few minutes away, and Essex County parks fill in the rest.
Data notes. Brookdale's court count is 6 per the Brookdale Park Conservancy. A county upgrade to 8 has been reported, but we couldn't confirm it, so it's marked unverified. The $350 figure is the 2026 adult single-play season pass on the Elite Tennis rate sheet. Hourly rates are also listed. Grover Cleveland Park lists "Pickleball courts" on its county page but no count. Branch Brook's count comes from OpenStreetMap. Verona Park's courts are described as "striped for both tennis and pickleball" (shared lines). The Mountainside Park pickleball conversion appears in a township environmental assessment, but we couldn't confirm whether it's still planned.
Montclair Pickleball (montclairpickleball.com): calls itself "NJ's #1 Pickleball Academy". Adult programs, kids clinics, memberships, court rentals, events and tournaments. 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair. Phone (973) 805-3959. It also runs a Fair Lawn location (montclairpickleballbc.com) with bookable courts.
Elite Tennis at Brookdale Park (973-744-7060): the county's pickleball and tennis court reservations at Brookdale.
Tips for Montclair players
Book Brookdale ahead. Reservations go through Elite Tennis (973-744-7060).
Season pass math. If you'll play Brookdale every week, compare the 2026 $350 adult single-play season pass against hourly rates on the Elite Tennis rate sheet.
Check the lines at Verona Park. Courts there are striped for both tennis and pickleball, so expect to share.
Watch Montclair Township. The pickleball debate isn't over. We'll update this page if the township approves courts.
Are there public pickleball courts in Montclair, NJ?
Not township-owned courts that we could verify as of October 9, 2026. The closest public courts are at Essex County's Brookdale Park, on the Bloomfield–Montclair border.
How do I reserve pickleball at Brookdale Park?
Essex County lists Elite Tennis at 973-744-7060 for pickleball and tennis court reservations at Brookdale Park.
What happened to the Canterbury Park pickleball courts?
On February 24, 2026, Montclair's council approved a Green Acres grant application for Canterbury Park on the condition that it not include pickleball, citing noise concerns (Montclair Local).
Where else in Essex County can I play pickleball?
Essex County lists pickleball courts at Grover Cleveland Park in Essex Fells. County releases mention courts at Branch Brook Park's Althea Gibson tennis complex in Newark and shared tennis/pickleball striping at Verona Park.
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