Seward Hill Preserve
Managed by Chester Borough
59 acres0.8 mi of trail
Patriots' Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chester
21% of Chester’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. 21% of Chester’s land is conserved, about 209 acres. 151 acres are parks and preserves, 100 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
209 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
151 ac
100 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Chester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chester is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land100 acres of park per 1,000 residents (151 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)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Chester’s 21% is ahead of 71% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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 Seward Hill Preserve, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
209 conserved acres
21% of Chester’s land. Who manages Chester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city149 ac
County112 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government49 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits41 ac
Agricultural Easement · 161 acLocal Other or Unknown · 91 acLocal Park · 41 acOther Easement · 41 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 91 | Open |
| Chubb Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Grove Street Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Municipal Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Borough Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Chester Borough Athletic Facility Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Chester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chester
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Chester
Seward HillIn Seward Hill Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Chester
Grove Street Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Patriots' Path1.0 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
1 miCourts & fields
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Volleyball
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Chester: 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.
| 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 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Chester →
Questions about parks and trails in Chester
Where can I hike in Chester?
The longest trail networks: Seward Hill Preserve, 0.8 miles; Grove Street Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chester is conserved land?
21% 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 Chester’s trails?
Seward Hill Preserve and Grove Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chester?
44,094 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 151 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chester have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Chester 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 →