Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of New York City.

[34] The Mountain Lakes station provides NJ Transit commuter train service.

[36] Mountain Lakes was originally a planned community, founded in 1910 by Herbert Hapgood.

During this single decade, the natural and architectural character of Mountain Lakes was developed.

Hapgood was particularly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, at the height of its popularity in 1910 when he started building.

[37] Lawrence W. Luellen, inventor of the Dixie Cup, became the community's first resident when he moved to his new home in March 1911.

[38][39] The Hapgood model homes were early forerunners of the modern development, but each house was modified to suit individual tastes.

By the end of 1912, two hundred Hapgood homes were sold and occupied and in 1914 saw the formation of the Mountain Lakes Club.

[40] The United States Navy's Underwater Sound Reference Laboratories was located in Mountain Lakes during World War II.

[41] Mountain Lakes had a discriminatory "gentleman's agreement" from its inception up through the 1960s, preventing African-Americans, Jews, Latinos, Catholics, and other "undesirable groupings"[42] from living there.

[43][44][45] While this was abandoned in recent years, the town still has a less diverse population than the rest of New Jersey, or Morris County.

[53] According to The New York Times, a diverse group of foreigners have been moving to the borough, including Germans, Chinese, South Africans, and New Zealanders.

In 2000, the township's median household income ranked third in the state and the highest in Morris County.

[61] Mountain Lakes operates within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of municipal government (Plan E), implemented based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission as of January 1, 1975.

[63] The Borough Council is comprised of seven members, who are elected at-large for staggered four-year terms of office on a partisan basis, with either three or four seats coming up for vote as part of the November general election in even-numbered years.

[3][6][64] As of 2025[update], members of the Mountain Lakes Borough Council are Mayor Lauren Barnett (D, term on committee ends December 31, 2028; term as mayor ends December 31, 2025), Deputy Mayor Melissa Muilenburg (D, term on committee ends December 31, 2026; term as deputy mayor ends December 31, 2025), Chris Cannon (D, 2026), Joshua Howley (D, 2028), Thomas Menard (D, 2026), Khizar Sheikh (D, 2028), and Angela Tsai (D, 2028).

[66] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 11th congressional district is represented by Mikie Sherrill (D, Montclair).

[68] For the 2024-2025 session, the 26th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Pennacchio (R, Rockaway Township) and in the General Assembly by Brian Bergen (R, Denville Township) and Jay Webber (R, Morris Plains).

[70] Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by County Administrator Deena Leary.

[113][114][115] Students from Boonton Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

[118] According to Neighborhood Scout, Mountain Lakes is one of New Jersey's most highly educated municipalities, with 85.94% of adults attaining a four-year undergraduate or graduate degree, quadruple the national average of 21.84%, while the percentage of white-collar workers was 98.77%.