Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by New Jersey Audubon
216 acres5.5 mi of trail
Dogwood TrailField Loop TrailHabitat Health Interpretive TrailRiver Trail+1
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bernardsville
Bernardsville has 455 acres of parks, 58 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary (5.5 mi). 9% of Bernardsville’s land is conserved, about 747 acres. 90% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #218 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
747 acres · of 12.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.5 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
455 ac
58 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
90%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
823 ft
Mine Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Bernardsville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bernardsville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bernardsville is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #218 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 Bernardsville’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land58 acres of park per 1,000 residents (455 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home90% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 54%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Bernardsville’s 9% is ahead of 43% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% 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 Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
747 conserved acres
9% of Bernardsville’s land. Who manages Bernardsville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits296 ac
Town or city222 ac
National Park Service175 ac
County115 ac
Not recorded199 ac
Private Conservation · 381 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 175 acLocal Other or Unknown · 139 acLocal Conservation Area · 113 acConservation Easement · 60 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 61 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Presserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 381 | Open |
| Morristown National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 175 | Restricted |
| Little Brook Sanctuary Local Conservation Area | County | 108 | Open |
| Bernardsville Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 90 | Open |
| Polo Grounds Recreation Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Peters Tract Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| William Post Natural Area Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 21 | Open |
| Borough Springs Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Moraine Crest Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Laurel Woods Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Bernardsville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bernardsville
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Bernardsville
Mine Mountain823 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.2 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
Dogwood Trail1.1 mi
Field Loop Trail0.6 mi
Carriage Road Trail0.5 mi
New Jersey Brigade Trail0.4 mi
Passaic River Trail/Patriots' Path0.4 mi
New Jersey Brigade Trail/Patriots' Path0.4 mi
Patriots' Path0.4 mi
Habitat Health Interpretive Trail0.4 mi
River Trail0.3 mi
Field Loop Spur Trail0.2 mi
3 more trails
Passaic River Trail
0.2 miDogwood TrailPatriots' Path
0.2 miDogwood Spur Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
21Tennis
5Baseball
2Pickleball
2Basketball
2Football
2Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bernardsville: 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) | 38 | 41 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bernardsville →
Next door
Bernardsville and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Harding Township45 miMendham Township41 miBernards Township25 miBernardsville8.5 miPeapack and Gladstone3.7 miBasking Ridge2.0 miFar Hills1.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernardsville | 9% | 0.7 | 58 | 90% | A |
| Bernards Township | 16% | 1.0 | 92 | 96% | A+ |
| Basking Ridge | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mendham Township | 28% | 2.3 | 404 | 94% | A+ |
| Peapack and Gladstone | 14% | 0.6 | 135 | 94% | A |
| Harding Township | 53% | 2.2 | 188 | 75% | A+ |
| Far Hills | — 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 Bernardsville
Where can I hike in Bernardsville?
The longest trail networks: Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, 5.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bernardsville is conserved land?
9% 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 Bernardsville’s trails?
Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bernardsville?
42,928 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bernardsville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 455 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bernardsville have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #218 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 Bernardsville 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 →