Jakes Branch County Park
Managed by Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation
409 acres7.2 mi of trail
Tindey Hiking TrailBike/Multi Use TrailInterpretive TrailSpruce Street Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Beachwood
28% of Beachwood’s 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. 7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Beachwood, 2.7 per square mile of land. 28% of Beachwood’s land is conserved, about 493 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #15 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
493 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
509 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Beachwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Beachwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Beachwood is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #15 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Beachwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (509 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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)Among the top 1%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 97%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Beachwood’s 28% is ahead of 83% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Jakes Branch County Park, with 7.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
493 conserved acres
28% of Beachwood’s land. Who manages Beachwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County440 ac
Town or city51 ac
Not recorded26 ac
Local Conservation Area · 439 acLocal Recreation Area · 33 acLocal Park · 24 acLocal Other or Unknown · 21 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jakes Branch Park Local Conservation Area | County | 417 | Open |
| Mayo Park Waterfront Local Park | Not recorded | 35 | Open |
| Pinewald Road Local Conservation Area | County | 24 | Open |
| Birch Surf Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Berkeley Avenue Soccer Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Beachwood Pines Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Rails to Trails Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Beachwood Borough Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Ocean Avenue Playground Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Beachwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Beachwood
Beachwood Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Beachwood
Mayo Park PlaygroundIn Mayo Park
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Beachwood
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Beachwood
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Tindey Hiking Trail3.7 mi
Bike/Multi Use Trail1.4 mi
Interpretive Trail0.6 mi
Spruce Street Trail0.4 mi
Plant Discovery Trail0.3 mi
Swamp Spur0.2 mi
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
5Tennis
4Basketball
2Soccer
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Beachwood: April to June
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 50 | 61 | 70 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.0 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Beachwood →
Next door
Beachwood and its neighbors
Beachwood has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beachwood | 28% | 2.7 | 46 | 99%+ | A+ |
| South Toms River | 22% | 0.7 | 44 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Berkeley Township | 47% | 1.6 | 268 | 86% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Beachwood
Where can I hike in Beachwood?
The longest trail networks: Jakes Branch County Park, 7.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Beachwood is conserved land?
28% 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 Beachwood’s trails?
Jakes Branch County Park and Mayo Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Beachwood?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Beachwood?
55,239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Beachwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 509 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Beachwood have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #15 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 Beachwood 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 →