Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.023% of Clark 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. 23% of Clark Township’s land is conserved, about 630 acres. 4.7 miles of mapped trail cross Clark Township, 1.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #87 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Clark Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Clark Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clark Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #87 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Clark Township’s 23% is ahead of 75% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% of them.
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 Rahway River Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Milton Lake Park
630 conserved acres
23% of Clark Township’s land. Who manages Clark Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 23 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Reservoir Local Recreation Area | County | 169 | Open |
| Rahway River Parkway Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 144 | Open |
| Oak Ridge Park Local Recreation Area | County | 131 | Open |
| Ash Brook Reservation Local Recreation Area | County | 63 | Open |
| Rahway River Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 57 | Open |
| Peter J Esposito Park Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 26 | Open |
| Hazelwood Cemetery 1 - 2007 Local Other or Unknown | County | 22 | Unknown |
| Hazelwood Cemetery Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 19 | Open |
| Municipal Pool Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Bartell Field Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
11 places to go in Clark Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
4 lakes & rivers
0.0 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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Clark Township: 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 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clark Township →
Clark Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Township | 23% | 1.1 | 32 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Scotch Plains Township | 21% | 1.7 | 50 | 98% | A+ |
| Rahway | 9% | 0.3 | 8 | 99%+ | A− |
| Cranford Township | 14% | 1.5 | 20 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Linden | 3% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clark Township
Where can I hike in Clark Township?
The longest trail networks: Rahway River Park, 1.4 miles; Oak Ridge Park, 0.9 miles; Milton Lake Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clark Township is conserved land?
23% 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 Clark Township’s trails?
Rahway River Park and Oak Ridge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clark Township?
30,567 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clark Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 628 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clark Township have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #87 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 Clark Township 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 →