Lord Stirling Park
Nature preserve
1,009 acres10 mi of trail
UnblazedRed TrailYellow TrailBlue Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bernards Township
16% of Bernards Township’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
2,591 acres are parks and preserves, 92 per 1,000 residents. 16% of Bernards Township’s land is conserved, about 2,526 acres. 25 miles of mapped trail cross Bernards Township, 1.0 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #92 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
2,526 acres · of 24.2 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,591 ac
92 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.0 mi
5.0 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Bernards Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bernards Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bernards Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #92 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bernards Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land92 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,591 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 81%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Bernards Township’s 16% is ahead of 61% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Lord Stirling Park, with 10 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 13 parks & preserves
Lord Stirling Park1,009 acres · 10 mi of trail
DirectionsPleasant Valley Park51 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHarry Dunham Park28 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsSons of Liberty Farm25 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsScherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New Jersey Audubon
DirectionsSecond Watchung Greenway354 acres · Somerset County Park Commission
DirectionsFarmstead Park19 acres
DirectionsSouthard park18 acres
DirectionsRidge Baseball Club Complex8 acres
DirectionsAstor Fields6 acres
DirectionsFireman's Field2 acres
DirectionsGreat Swamp National Wildlife Refuge1 acres
Dewy Meadow Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
2,526 conserved acres
16% of Bernards Township’s land. Who manages Bernards Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,384 ac
Town or city1,178 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits82 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service15 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3 ac
Not recorded507 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,676 acLocal Conservation Area · 783 acLocal Park · 283 acLocal Recreation Area · 171 acLocal Resource Management Area · 144 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 52 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Stirling Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 999 | Open |
| Second Watchung Greenway Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 714 | Open |
| Bernards Township Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 416 | Open |
| Bernards Township Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 152 | Open |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 152 | Open |
| Bernards Township 2 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 107 | Open |
| Pleasant Valley Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 102 | Open |
| Society Hill Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 88 | Open |
| Dead River Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Spring Ridge Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 73 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in Bernards Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bernards Township
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Bernards Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Bernards Township
Sky Farm
DirectionsDisc golf in Bernards Township
Harry Dunham Park Disc Golf CourseIn Harry Dunham Park
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.8 miUnpaved · 4.4 mi
Unblazed3.5 mi
Red Trail1.7 mi
Yellow Trail1.6 mi
Blue Trail1.0 mi
Manor Trail Blue0.6 mi
Orange Trail0.5 mi
White Trail0.2 mi
Connector0.1 mi
Red / Yellow Trail0.1 mi
EEC Connector0.1 mi
2 more trails
Orange / White Trail
0.1 miBlue / Red Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
49Tennis
24Baseball
12Basketball
10Soccer
3Equestrian
2Football
2Volleyball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →11 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Presbyterian Church in Basking RidgeBuilding · listed 1974
About itFranklin Corners Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itBasking Ridge Classical SchoolBuilding · listed 1976
About itCoffee HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itStirling, Lord, Manor SiteSite · listed 1978
About itLyons StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itAlward FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itLiberty Corner Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itKennedy-Martin-Stelle FarmsteadDistrict · listed 2004
About itBoudinot-Southard FarmsteadBuilding · listed 2009
About itLyons Veterans Administration Hospital Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bernards Township: April to September
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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bernards Township →
Next door
Bernards Township and its neighbors
Bernards Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Harding Township45 miBernards Township25 miBernardsville8.5 miWarren Township6.2 miLong Hill Township5.4 miLyons3.1 miMillington2.1 miBasking Ridge2.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernards Township | 16% | 1.0 | 92 | 96% | A+ |
| Basking Ridge | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Harding Township | 53% | 2.2 | 188 | 75% | A+ |
| Warren Township | 9% | 0.3 | 61 | 79% | A− |
| Long Hill Township | 52% | 0.5 | 143 | 97% | A+ |
| Millington | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bernardsville | 9% | 0.7 | 58 | 90% | A |
| Lyons | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bernards Township
Where can I hike in Bernards Township?
The longest trail networks: Lord Stirling Park, 10 miles; Pleasant Valley Park, 1.2 miles; Harry Dunham Park, 1 miles; Sons of Liberty Farm, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bernards Township is conserved land?
16% 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 Bernards Township’s trails?
Lord Stirling Park and Pleasant Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bernards Township?
5.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Bernards Township?
52,063 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bernards Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,592 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bernards Township have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #92 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 Bernards Township 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 →