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Cedar Grove firehouse jehPhoto: Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 4.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cedar Grove Township

18% of Cedar Grove 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 miles of mapped trail cross Cedar Grove Township, 6.5 per square mile of land. 18% of Cedar Grove Township’s land is conserved, about 483 acres.

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #22 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
18%
483 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
6.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
490 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2

What kind of outdoors town is Cedar Grove Township?

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

Land that stays wild18% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.A trail town6.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, among the top 1% of U.S. towns.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Cedar Grove Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cedar Grove Township is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #22 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cedar Grove Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails6.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (28 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (490 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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)Ahead of 96%

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Cedar Grove Township’s 18% is ahead of 64% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% 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.

1234
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 Mills Reservation, with 9.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Mills Reservation

Nature preserve
151 acres9.6 mi of trail
Mills Loop TrailLenape TrailReservoir TrailEastview Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Old Quarry Road Parking

Hilltop Reservation

Nature preserve
91 acres4.7 mi of trail
C-29 TrailSpruce Trail - Inner LoopPeace TrailOld Hilltop Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Cedar Grove Park

Park
42 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Cedar Grove Community Park

Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Mills Reservation151 acres · 9.6 mi of trail
Directions
Hilltop Reservation91 acres · 4.7 mi of trail
Directions
Cedar Grove Park42 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Cedar Grove Community Park16 acres
Jaycee Park2 acres · Township of Cedar Grove
Directions
Who protects it

483 conserved acres

18% of Cedar Grove Township’s land. Who manages Cedar Grove Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County297 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government99 ac
Town or city64 ac
State conservation33 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Not recorded33 ac
Local Conservation Area · 151 acLocal Other or Unknown · 107 acRecreation or Education Easement · 100 acLocal Park · 93 acLocal Recreation Area · 41 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Mills Reservation
Local Conservation Area
County151Open
Cedar Grove Park
Local Other or Unknown
County91Open
Community Park
Local Park
Not recorded61Open
Hilltop
Local Park
County42Open
Morgan's Farm
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city17Open
West Essex Trail
Local Recreation Area
County11Open
Jacee Park
Local Park
Town or city8Open
Bowden Pond
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city4Open
Highland Pond
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city4Open
Oak Drive
Local Park
Town or city2Open

2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

9 places to go in Cedar Grove Township

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

Peaks in Cedar Grove Township
Eifall
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 15.8 mi
Lenape Trail2.1 mi
West Essex Trail2.0 mi
Mills Loop Trail1.4 mi
Reservoir Trail0.9 mi
C-29 Trail0.7 mi
Boogaloo0.7 mi
Eastview Trail0.7 mi
Spruce Trail - Inner Loop0.7 mi
Peace Trail0.7 mi
Woodland Trail0.6 mi
15 more trails
Old Hilltop Trail
0.6 mi
Disco Stu
0.6 mi
Ligne Maginot
0.6 mi
Switchback Trail
0.5 mi
West Essex/Powerline Connector
0.5 mi
Powerline Trail
0.5 mi
Tenacious SOBs
0.4 mi
Mini ST
0.4 mi
Inscription Trail
0.4 mi
Spruce Trail - Outer Loop
0.4 mi
Endor
0.3 mi
C26 Trail
0.3 mi
2nd Mountain Trail
0.3 mi
Verona Pool Access
0.3 mi
Roller Trail
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Cedar Grove ReservoirreservoirPeckman 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.

West Essex TrailBike route
2 mi
Courts & fields
11Baseball
10Basketball
9Tennis
3Soccer
2Multi-sport
1Pickleball
1Football
1Field hockey

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

History along the way

2 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Jacobus HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About it
Canfield-Morgan HouseStructure · listed 1995
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Cedar Grove 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)9.510.611.813.214.415.114.813.812.411.09.89.3
High (°F)394250627281868477655343
Rain (in)3.52.84.24.04.04.74.64.64.44.53.74.4

February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cedar Grove Township →

Next door

Cedar Grove Township and its neighbors

Cedar Grove Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Cedar Grove Township28 miVerona Township11 miMontclair Township8.2 miUpper Montclair3.9 miNorth Caldwell3.1 miLittle Falls Township2.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Cedar Grove Township18%6.53699%+A+
Montclair Township7%1.3899%+A−
Upper Montclair— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
North Caldwell6%1.01799%A
Verona Township15%3.91899%+A+
Little Falls Township2%1.0599%+B+

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

Questions about parks and trails in Cedar Grove Township

Where can I hike in Cedar Grove Township?

The longest trail networks: Mills Reservation, 9.6 miles; Hilltop Reservation, 4.7 miles; Cedar Grove Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Cedar Grove Township is conserved land?

18% 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 Cedar Grove Township’s trails?

Mills Reservation and Hilltop Reservation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Cedar Grove Township?

32,671 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cedar Grove Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 490 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Cedar Grove Township have?

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #22 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 Cedar Grove 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 →