Updated August 2015
The Wooden Duck B&B
Newton
140 Goodale Road
(973-300-0395, WoodenDuckInn.com)
Number of rooms: 10
Despite the significant waterfowl presence, the ten-room inn just outside Newton is attractively modern. The large guest rooms are filled with light, both the natural kind that pours in through numerous windows and skylights and flickers in gas fireplaces, and the lightness provided by natural wood furniture, cream-colored walls, and white, fluffy bedding.
After their children went off to college, Jason and Maryann Jerome bought the Wooden Duck in 2014 from Beth and Karl Krummel, who had bought it in 2005 after their children went off to college. The original owners had converted the 1970s country-style home into a B&B in 1995.
Maryann Jerome says that, prior to becoming an innkeeper, she had enjoyed making elaborate meals for friends and family. Now, she says, cooking is her favorite part of running the Wooden Duck.
“Most people coming here want to relax and reconnect,” she says, “but there are a lot of activities to enjoy in the area, and a lot of great dining options.”
For the adventurous, Sussex County offers plenty of sites to explore. The inn’s wooded, 10-acre property adjoins Kittatinny Valley State Park, where you can hike and bike. Elsewhere in the Skylands region, High Point State Park and Stokes State Forest provide good hunting and fishing; numerous restaurants can be found in Newton and on the lakes in Sparta and Walpack. Nightly rates year-round go from $139 on a weeknight for the Scoter, which sleeps four ($30 additional per person for more than two), to $279 for a weekend night in the deluxe Golden Eye suite, with its two-sided gas fireplace, two-person soaking tub and private balcony.