Ruckman Field
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hess, Harold, Lustron House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Closter
13% of Closter’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. 13% of Closter’s land is conserved, about 260 acres. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Closter, 1.0 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #107 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
260 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
248 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Closter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild13% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 81% of U.S. towns.History along the way10 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Closter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Closter is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #107 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Closter’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (248 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B+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)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 77%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Closter’s 13% is ahead of 54% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
260 conserved acres
13% of Closter’s land. Who manages Closter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city247 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government11 ac
County11 ac
Not recorded26 ac
Local Conservation Area · 102 acLocal Park · 92 acLocal Other or Unknown · 39 acLocal Resource Management Area · 32 acAgricultural Easement · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 97 | Open |
| Ruckman Park Renaissance Local Park | Not recorded | 31 | Open |
| Tenakill Brook Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Ruckman Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Schuable Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Buzzoni Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Blanch Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
| Closter Borough Forest Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Blue Trail0.6 mi
Orange Trail0.6 mi
Red Trail0.3 mi
White Trail0.3 mi
Green Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
Courts & fields
4Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Abram Demaree HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itDavid & Cornelius Van Horn HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itHenry Naugle HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itIsaac Naugle HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itJohn Nagle HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itTallman-Vanderbeck HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itVervalen HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itWilliam De Clark HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itHaring-Auryanson HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itHess, Harold, Lustron HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Closter: April to June, August and 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 87 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Closter →
Next door
Closter 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closter | 13% | 1.0 | 29 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Harrington Park | 14% | 1.0 | 33 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Norwood | 20% | 0.9 | 59 | 99% | A+ |
| Emerson | 2% | 1.9 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Demarest | 13% | 2.3 | 35 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Alpine | 23% | 6.9 | 1,201 | 89% | A+ |
| Haworth | 9% | 5.6 | 35 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Closter
How much of Closter 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 Closter’s trails?
Ruckman Field doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Closter?
26,067 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Closter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 248 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Closter have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 Closter 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 →