Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve
Nature preserve
167 acres1.9 mi of trail
Yellow TrailUnmarked Former Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Blairstown Township
Blairstown Township has 1,582 acres of parks, 276 for every 1,000 residents
27% of Blairstown Township’s land is conserved, about 5,069 acres. 40 miles of mapped trail cross Blairstown Township, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve (1.9 mi), Maple Hill Preserve (1.7 mi), Limestone Ridge Marsh Preserve (1 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #114 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
5,069 acres · of 29.9 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,582 ac
276 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Blairstown Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Blairstown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blairstown Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #114 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Blairstown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land276 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,582 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home69% 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 95%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 76%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Blairstown Township’s 27% is ahead of 79% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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 Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Maple Hill Preserve
Managed by Ridge and Valley Conservancy
118 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Limestone Ridge Marsh Preserve
Nature preserve
371 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve167 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
Maple Hill Preserve118 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Ridge and Valley Conservancy
DirectionsLimestone Ridge Marsh Preserve371 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsSycamore Park32 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsVail Baseball park3 acres
Who protects it
5,069 conserved acres
27% of Blairstown Township’s land. Who manages Blairstown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,781 ac
County1,455 ac
Other state land1,194 ac
Town or city1,005 ac
State parks855 ac
State natural resources665 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government550 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,538 acState Resource Management Area · 1,669 acPrivate Conservation · 1,074 acState Conservation Area · 852 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 530 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,084 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 145 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worthington State Forest State Resource Management Area | State parks | 1,669 | Open |
| Limestone Ridge Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 961 | Open |
| Paulinskill Valley Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 437 | Open |
| Yards Creek Scout Reservation Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 433 | Open |
| Yards Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 398 | Open |
| Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 359 | Open |
| Hemlock Ridge Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 313 | Closed |
| Beech Ridge Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 210 | Open |
| The Land Conservancy of New Jersey Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 112 | Open |
| Paulinskill Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 112 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
30 places to go in Blairstown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Blairstown Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Blairstown Township
Patriot ParkIn Sycamore Park
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Blairstown Township
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Blairstown Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Blairstown Township
11 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Blairstown Township
2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Blairstown Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Blairstown Township
Gourmet Gallery Outdoor Seating
DirectionsCampgrounds in Blairstown Township
Yards Creek Boy Scout Camp
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.1 miHorses · 5.1 miUnpaved · 10.2 mi
Paulinskill Valley Trail5.1 mi
Yellow Trail1.5 mi
Limestone Ridge1.4 mi
Kaiser Road Trail (Blue)0.8 mi
Unmarked Former Trail0.4 mi
Appalachian Trail0.2 mi
Beech Ridge Preserve0.2 mi
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.
9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route)Bike route
5.1 miPaulinskill Valley TrailBike route
5.1 miCourts & fields
12Baseball
10Tennis
8Equestrian
5Soccer
5Field hockey
4Basketball
3Football
1Lacrosse
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 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Blairstown Township: April, May, August and 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Blairstown Township →
Next door
Blairstown Township and its neighbors
Blairstown Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hardwick Township97 miBlairstown Township40 miKnowlton Township22 miFrelinghuysen Township18 miHope Township6.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blairstown Township | 27% | 1.3 | 276 | 69% | A |
| Hardwick Township | 70% | 2.6 | 6,648 | 88% | A+ |
| Frelinghuysen Township | 35% | 0.8 | 646 | 66% | A |
| Hope Township | 26% | 0.4 | 181 | 47% | A− |
| Knowlton Township | 37% | 0.9 | 792 | 68% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Blairstown Township
Where can I hike in Blairstown Township?
The longest trail networks: Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve, 1.9 miles; Maple Hill Preserve, 1.7 miles; Limestone Ridge Marsh Preserve, 1 miles; Sycamore Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Blairstown Township is conserved land?
27% 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 Blairstown Township’s trails?
Hemlock Ridge & Ravine Preserve and Maple Hill Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Blairstown Township?
101,369 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blairstown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,697 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Blairstown Township have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 Blairstown 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 →