Spruce Run Recreation Area
Nature preserve
133 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Bohnel · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Clinton
13% of Clinton’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. 249 acres are parks and preserves, 89 per 1,000 residents. 13% of Clinton’s land is conserved, about 113 acres.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #167 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
113 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
249 ac
89 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Clinton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clinton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clinton is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #167 of 468 in New Jersey. 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 Clinton’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land89 acres of park per 1,000 residents (249 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 92%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 64%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Clinton’s 13% is ahead of 54% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 27% of them.
Water is 6% of Clinton’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Clinton. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
113 conserved acres
13% of Clinton’s land. Water is left out: Clinton has 1.3 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clinton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city89 ac
County17 ac
State natural resources7 ac
Not recorded51 ac
Local Park · 85 acLocal Recreation Area · 57 acState Recreation Area · 7 acLocal Conservation Area · 7 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunts Mills Park Local Park | Not recorded | 93 | Open |
| Dunham Park Local Park | County | 39 | Open |
| Landsdown Trail Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
| Spruce Run Reservoir State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 7 | Open |
| Demott Park and Fishing Pond Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Community Center Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Millview Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Clinton Town Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Clinton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Clinton
Alton Place Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Clinton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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 Clinton: 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) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Clinton →
Next door
Clinton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | 13% | 0.3 | 89 | 99%+ | A |
| Clinton Township | 37% | 1.1 | 463 | 78% | A+ |
| Union Township | 43% | 0.4 | 673 | 95% | A+ |
| Franklin Township | 23% | 0.2 | 160 | 60% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clinton
How much of Clinton is conserved land?
13% 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 Clinton’s trails?
Spruce Run Recreation Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clinton?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Clinton?
31,470 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clinton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 249 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clinton have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #167 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 Clinton 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 →