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Boonton Public Library, NJPhoto: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Boonton Township

28% of Boonton Township’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. 28% of Boonton Township’s land is conserved, about 1,468 acres. 1,264 acres are parks and preserves, 286 per 1,000 residents.

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #4 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
28%
1,468 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,264 ac
286 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
906 ft
Sheep Hill
Lakes & rivers
8

What kind of outdoors town is Boonton Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild28% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.Room to roam286 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Boonton Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Boonton Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs put Boonton Township near the top nationally; the share of residents near a park ranks highest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Boonton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land286 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,264 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks 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)#4 of 468

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Boonton Township’s 28% is ahead of 82% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% 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.

12345
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 Tourne County Park, with 6.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Tourne County Park

Managed by Morris County
260 acres6.7 mi of trail
Yellow TrailOrange (north)Orange TrailGreen+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields

Park
55 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area

Managed by Morris County
129 acres1.1 mi of trail
Pink TrailKincaid Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Jonathan's Woods

Managed by Morris County
91 acres1.1 mi of trail
Little Bear Trail (Green)Loren's Loop (Pink)Ford Road Trail (Red)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Koehler Pond

Nature preserve
123 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Tourne County Park260 acres · 6.7 mi of trail · Morris County
Directions
Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields55 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Directions
Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area129 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Morris County
Directions
Jonathan's Woods91 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Morris County
Koehler Pond123 acres · 1 mi of trail
Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area2 acres · State of New Jersey
Buck Mountain1 acres · State of New Jersey
Griffith Park1 acres · Boonton Township
Directions
Who protects it

1,468 conserved acres

28% of Boonton Township’s land. Who manages Boonton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County665 ac
Town or city494 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits196 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government139 ac
Private owners16 ac
State natural resources1 ac
Not recorded584 ac
Local Conservation Area · 753 acLocal Other or Unknown · 615 acAgricultural Easement · 276 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 131 acLocal Recreation Area · 123 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 217 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Tourne County Park
Local Park
County515Open
Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area
Local Conservation Area
County288Open
Jonathan's Woods
Local Conservation Area
County181Open
Koehler Pond
Local Recreation Area
Town or city123Open
Sheep Hill Park
Local Park
Not recorded75Open
Conklin Scout Reservation
Private Recreation or Education
Land trusts & nonprofits68Open
Dixons Pond
Private Recreation or Education
Land trusts & nonprofits63Open
Boonton Township Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city60Open
Hawk Hill
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city57Open
Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city54Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

7 places to go in Boonton Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Boonton Township
Sheep Hill906 ft elevation
Directions
Tourne896 ft elevation · In Tourne County Park
Directions
Fox Hill
Directions
Trails & water

22 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miHorses · 3.4 miUnpaved · 8.4 mi
Yellow Trail1.3 mi
Orange (north)0.8 mi
Little Bear Trail (Green)0.8 mi
Orange Trail0.7 mi
Red Trail0.7 mi
Pink Trail0.7 mi
Green0.5 mi
Blue Trail0.4 mi
Blue0.4 mi
Green (Evergreen Trail)0.3 mi
12 more trails
Loren's Loop (Pink)
0.3 mi
Kincaid Trail
0.3 mi
Orange
0.2 mi
Wildflower Trail
0.2 mi
Rigby's Brook
0.1 mi
Ford Road Trail (Red)
0.1 mi
No Blaze
0.1 mi
Blue / Red Trail
0.1 mi
White Trail
0.1 mi
Bird Sanctuary
0.1 mi
Rock Lane Access
0.1 mi
Yellow Dot Trail
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Deer LakereservoirDixons PondreservoirGriffith PondreservoirHood PondreservoirKoehler PondLake Tumble-InreservoirLeonard PondpondRockaway River
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
4Baseball
4Tennis
3Pickleball
2Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 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.

History →
James Dixon FarmBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Rockaway Valley Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Decker-Kincaid HomesteadBuilding · listed 2005
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Boonton 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.611.813.314.415.114.813.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)374048617179848275645242
Rain (in)3.62.74.14.04.04.64.54.44.54.63.54.4

February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Boonton Township →

Next door

Boonton Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Rockaway Township108 miKinnelon42 miDenville Township23 miMontville Township19 miBoonton Township14 miMountain Lakes7.9 miBoonton1.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Boonton Township28%1.728699%+A+
Montville Township23%1.012097%A+
Boonton7%0.51497%A−
Mountain Lakes7%3.03898%A
Rockaway Township25%2.636993%A+
Denville Township21%1.98697%A+
Kinnelon33%2.338398%A+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Boonton Township

Where can I hike in Boonton Township?

The longest trail networks: Tourne County Park, 6.7 miles; Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields, 1.8 miles; Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area, 1.1 miles; Jonathan's Woods, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Boonton Township 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 Boonton Township’s trails?

Tourne County Park and Rockaway Valley Aerodrome Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Boonton Township?

64,192 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Boonton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,264 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Boonton Township have?

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Boonton Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →