Stillwater Township's housing is rural and varied. The stock includes working and former dairy farms with their farmhouses, country homes on larger lots, and single-family houses in the township's crossroads and lake communities. Around Crandon, Plymouth, and Paulinskill Lakes, modest cottages and seasonal homes mix with year-round residences, reflecting the area's resort-era past. Development is sparse compared with New Jersey's eastern counties, and the rural landscape preserves a sense of openness. Buyers are drawn to Stillwater for acreage, lake access, and a quiet country setting rather than suburban density.

Life in Stillwater Township is quiet, rural, and tied to the land and the lakes. Dairy farming and agriculture still shape the landscape, and the township's lake communities bring a seasonal, cottage-flavored rhythm to the warmer months. Residents enjoy country roads, open fields, and a slow pace, with fishing, boating, and lake recreation close at hand. The township is described as one of the most picturesque corners of Sussex County, and community life centers on the school, local farms, and seasonal gatherings. It is a genuinely country way of life, within reach of Newton, Blairstown, and the Delaware Water Gap.

Stillwater Township's public schools are divided across two systems. The Stillwater Township School District serves elementary students at the Stillwater Township School, which opened in 1941 as a consolidation of five one-room schoolhouses in the area. For grades seven through twelve, students attend Kittatinny Regional High School, located in nearby Newton and serving Stillwater along with other rural Sussex County communities. This structure keeps elementary education local while providing a consolidated regional high school for the surrounding countryside.

Stillwater Township is reached via Sussex County's rural road network, with the county seat of Newton and the town of Blairstown serving as nearby hubs. The township's country roads wind through farmland and lake communities, and there is no major highway through the township itself. Residents rely on private vehicles for commuting and errands, with Newton providing the nearest concentration of shopping and services. The Delaware Water Gap and Interstate 80 corridor lie to the southwest, offering a route toward the larger towns of northwestern New Jersey and points east.

Recreation in Stillwater Township revolves around its lakes and countryside. Swartswood Lake, a short distance from the township, offers swimming, boating, and fishing, carrying forward its early-twentieth-century resort tradition. The township's own lake communities—Crandon, Plymouth, and Paulinskill Lakes—provide additional water access and shoreline living. The surrounding Kittatinny Valley supports country walking, cycling, and hunting, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area lies within easy reach for hiking, river recreation, and scenic overlooks. For residents, outdoor recreation is an everyday part of rural Sussex County life.