North Brigantine Natural Area
Managed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Forestry
1,332 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dough4872 · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brigantine
More than half of Brigantine’s land is conserved: 74%
74% of Brigantine’s land is conserved, about 3,068 acres. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2,853 acres are parks and preserves, 372 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #6 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
74%
3,068 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.5 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,853 ac
372 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.9 mi
8.9 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Brigantine?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brigantine have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brigantine is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #6 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brigantine’s overall grade.
Conserved land74% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land372 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,853 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)#6 of 468
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Brigantine’s 74% is ahead of 100% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 64% of them.
Water is 40% of Brigantine’s area (4 of 11 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 44%.
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 North Brigantine Natural Area, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve
Managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
4,214 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Absecon Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,425 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,068 conserved acres
74% of Brigantine’s land. Water is left out: Brigantine has 6.5 square miles of land and 4.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Brigantine’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,333 ac
State fish & wildlife1,173 ac
Town or city568 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service18 ac
Not recorded956 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,086 acLocal Recreation Area · 540 acLocal Park · 397 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 18 acLocal Other or Unknown · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Brigatine Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,914 | Open |
| Absecon Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,173 | Open |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 374 | Open |
| Brigantine City Beach or Boardwalk Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 371 | Open |
| Brigantine Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 148 | Open |
| Brigantine Community Center & Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 18 | Restricted |
| 42nd Street Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| 26th Street Recreation Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| 6th Street Boat Ramp Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Brigantine
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Brigantine
North End Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Brigantine
Shark Park
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Brigantine
5th Street Boat Ramp
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.1 mi
42nd Street South0.1 mi
43rd Street South0.1 mi
40th Street South0.1 mi
37th Street South0.1 mi
44th Street South0.1 mi
Sea Wall0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
5Baseball
3Tennis
3Basketball
1Football
1Skate park
1Golf
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Brigantine: 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 50 | 60 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 66 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Brigantine →
Next door
Brigantine and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigantine | 74% | 1.0 | 372 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Galloway Township | 36% | 0.7 | 118 | 64% | A |
| Atlantic City | 14% | 0.7 | 25 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brigantine
Where can I hike in Brigantine?
The longest trail networks: North Brigantine Natural Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brigantine is conserved land?
74% 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 Brigantine’s trails?
North Brigantine Natural Area and Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brigantine?
8.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.9 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Brigantine?
18,832 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brigantine or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,853 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Brigantine have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Brigantine 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 →