Red Mill Museum Village - Museum in Clinton - 56 Main St, USA

As one of the first states in America (New Jersey was the third state to ratify the Constitution), we are very lucky to have historic sites and villages that help to preserve our heritage for future generations. Located along the South Branch of the Raritan River, the Red Mill has to be one of the most photographed buildings for a picture-perfect sunset or early morning, making it the ideal choice for our day trip. Admission to the mill museum and surrounding village for non-members is $12 per person. Before touring the mill itself, my partner and I strolled around the museum grounds. There were several buildings to see, some of which included a blacksmith shop, schoolhouse and log cabin. Blacksmith Paul was great and demonstrated how a hook was made out of a grill rack in about 5 minutes. Others weren’t able to go inside the tenant house or screen house. There were several signs that provided some information about the buildings and quarry. The schoolhouse seemed to be in the best condition. The mill museum itself is housed on four floors: the basement (main entrance level), the first floor, the second floor (closed to the public when we were there), and the third floor/attic. We started from the top and worked our way down. The water wheel is still operational. It's a great place to introduce young children to history in an interactive way, as the buildings house many artifacts that are hands-on. Without a doubt, the Red Mill Museum Village is one of the most fascinating and picturesque places in New Jersey, which we can recommend.

The red mill area is a lovely place to spend some time enjoying the view of the waterfall, the bridge and the cute little town with restaurants and shops right by the water. We wanted to walk around the mill itself and were confused by the parking situation at the mill itself. There were two signs that indicates it was parking for the red mill museum. So we pulled in to park and explore the mill and area. We thought about going in the museum real quick to check it out but there was a handwritten paper in the window that says it was $12 per person to enter. We only had a few mins while driving through the area and decided not to spend the money and just walked by side of the mill to look around and take some pix and then walked down the bridge to take more pix and then across to the patio to take more pix from that side. We then walked right back to the car in the mill museums parking lot. When we walked up a man was standing at the mill door waiting for us. He asked if we were going into the museum and we said that we think we already did years ago and we’re trying to recall if this was the same mill we visited years back. We thought he was being conversational but were then surprised to be told we had to pay him $10 to park in the parking lot unless we went into the museum and paid for that entrance. We said we had no idea there was such a parking fee as we didn’t see anything indicating such or we would have been happy to park on the street where there were two other convenient spots available. We just wanted to be close to the mill to walk around and thought the lot was conveniently there for exploring even the outside. He said we kept someone others from being able to park 🤦🏻‍♀️ when there was literally open spots in the lot and we were there *exactly* 14 minutes (356pm-410 pm as I took a photo when I got out and a photo when we got back to the car with the tile stamp) on a Sunday.🤦🏻‍♀️ He really did not want to let us get in our car without handing him $10 but we just apologized and said that we were not informed…definitely wasn’t handing this guy cash for a misunderstanding that was not for a lack of trying to read the signs to understand if we can park there to enjoy VIEWING the mill. Be more clear. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When we left we saw a 3RD sign that literally had a paper taped to it behind the other signs that had something written on it that may have stated something about mill parking but again we were going to THE MILL to look at it so it was still a mystery. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I suggest adding parking signs in front of the parking spots that say parking for going inside museum ONLY OR expect to hand a random guy who comes out of the museum (to stalk who’s car belongs to who’s) a non posted $10 fee. 🤷🏻‍♀️ So beware of the fees when visiting. The whole thing was so pleasant and he really killed the whole mood and made us feel like idiots.

The Red Mill Museum Village Winter Festival was great. Craft Vendors, food and beer truck, and Santa! Volunteers so accommodating. I have attended numerous events at the Red Mill and all are excellent!

Loved the self guided tour and the history of the mill. The area is beautiful and the staff so friendly.

Stunning view of the museum mill, ✨️the main attraction ✨️ .... Beautiful ... like a painting ! Cute shops around the block . A picturesque town A perfect fall trip ! You can park at the museum for a fee but there's plenty of parking spots available throughout the block .

So beautiful. Especially at Christmas. Nice town to walk through and beautiful views Came here on Christmas day

Review update: I went to the haunted Mill experience. Don't see any other way to review. It was absolutely awesome! One of the best I've been to. Highly recommend it. Good for all ages from 9 or 10 on up. *Obviously that depends on your some younger kids are fine with it some would not be. It's not super intense scary but some younger kids might find it too much. The line is a bit long as it's popular but they have costume actors entertaining you the whole time so it doesn't make the line seem as bad. The buildings are all set up great the props are great the actors are great. I recommend it over any of the local hayrides. **Note on the review where I put for the price range that is for the haunted house not if you go any other time of the year. Also they have many different things going on throughout the year so it's worth it to follow them on Facebook. Historic Red Mill Museum in Clinton. Cool building right on the water. Great photo ops. Nice to see anytime of the year but I think summer is the best as the trees are all green and the ducks are in the water as well as some kayakers. There is a small falls/dam area which is nice to look at. The mill has a small historic village that is open for tours at various times. They do a haunted mill at Halloween which is very popular. Clinton does Dicken's Days at Christmas which brings a ton of people to town. Be aware parking is VERY limited around the mill and in Clinton. It's always packed due to limited spots. Parking is free in town. Hard to put prices or wait times that Google wants you to put because it depends on when you go. If you go just to see the outside area its free and no wait. If you go at Halloween there is a cost and a wait.

Clean and decorated nicely for fall, Halloween. Was closed on a Friday but we enjoyed walking the town. A lot of cool shops and lil tea shops.