Photo: Jared Kofsky/Placenj.com · CC BY-SA 4.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Carteret
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 138 acres are parks and preserves, 5.4 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Carteret’s land is conserved, about 99 acres.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #401 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Carteret?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Carteret have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carteret is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #401 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Carteret’s 4% is ahead of 17% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% of them.
Water is 11% of Carteret’s area (1 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Joseph Medwick Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Carteret Waterfront Park
99 conserved acres
4% of Carteret’s land. Water is left out: Carteret has 4.4 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Carteret’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Medwick Park Local Park | County | 72 | Open |
| Arthur Kill Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Chrome Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Grant Avenue Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| John Street Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Carteret Borough Athletic Facility Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Knights of Columbus Field Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| VFW Picnic Grove Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
8 places to go in Carteret
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
2 lakes & rivers
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Carteret: April to June and August
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 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 43 | 51 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carteret →
Carteret 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carteret | 4% | 0.3 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
| Woodbridge Township | 5% | 0.5 | 9 | 94% | B+ |
| Avenel | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Linden | 3% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
| Port Reading | — 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 Carteret
Where can I hike in Carteret?
The longest trail networks: Joseph Medwick Park, 0.2 miles; Carteret Park, 0.2 miles; Carteret Waterfront Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carteret is conserved land?
4% 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 Carteret’s trails?
Joseph Medwick Park and Carteret Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carteret?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carteret?
26,053 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carteret or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 138 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carteret have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #401 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 Carteret neighbors.
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 →