Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook County Park
Park
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Atlantic Highlands
7% of Atlantic Highlands’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7% of Atlantic Highlands’ land is conserved, about 59 acres. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Atlantic Highlands, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #274 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
59 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
2.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Atlantic Highlands?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Atlantic Highlands have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Atlantic Highlands is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #274 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Atlantic Highlands’ overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 42%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Atlantic Highlands’ 7% is ahead of 34% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
Water is more than half of Atlantic Highlands’ area (3 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Atlantic Highlands. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook County Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
59 conserved acres
7% of Atlantic Highlands’ land. Water is left out: Atlantic Highlands has 1.3 square miles of land and 3.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Atlantic Highlands’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city41 ac
County26 ac
Local Recreation Area · 25 acLocal Park · 21 acLocal Other or Unknown · 18 acLocal Resource Management Area · 2 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Popamora Point Local Park | County | 12 | Open |
| Henry Hudson Trail Local Other or Unknown | County | 11 | Open |
| Center Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Lenape Woods Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Harbor Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bay Shore Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 3 | Open |
| South Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Lenape Woods Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Closed |
| Civic Center Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Atlantic Highlands
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Atlantic Highlands
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Atlantic Highlands
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Atlantic Highlands
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Baseball
3Basketball
3Tennis
1Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Atlantic Highlands: April to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 43 | 50 | 61 | 70 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Atlantic Highlands →
Next door
Atlantic Highlands and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Highlands | 7% | 0.4 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Middletown Township | 23% | 1.4 | 82 | 98% | A+ |
| Highlands | 7% | 1.5 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Atlantic Highlands
Where can I hike in Atlantic Highlands?
The longest trail networks: Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook County Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Atlantic Highlands is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 11% for a New Jersey town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Atlantic Highlands’ trails?
Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook County Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Atlantic Highlands?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Atlantic Highlands?
13,330 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Atlantic Highlands or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 62 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Atlantic Highlands have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #274 of 468 in New Jersey. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Atlantic Highlands neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →