Nomahegan Park
Nature preserve
136 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cranford Township
14% of Cranford 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. 7.2 miles of mapped trail cross Cranford Township, 1.5 per square mile of land. 14% of Cranford Township’s land is conserved, about 447 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #105 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
447 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
479 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
3.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Cranford Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cranford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cranford Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #105 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 Cranford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (479 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13BParks 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 78%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Cranford Township’s 14% is ahead of 58% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 81% 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 Nomahegan Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 12 parks & preserves
Nomahegan Park136 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsHansen Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsUnami Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSperry Park (North Section)1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHampton Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSherman Park4 acres
DirectionsTheodore Roosevelt Park3 acres
DirectionsMcConnell Park2 acres
Lincoln Park2 acres
DirectionsSperry Park2 acres
Directions9/11 Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
447 conserved acres
14% of Cranford Township’s land. Who manages Cranford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County337 ac
Town or city114 ac
Not recorded67 ac
Local Park · 259 acLocal Other or Unknown · 186 acLocal Conservation Area · 67 acLocal Recreation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rahway River Parkway Local Other or Unknown | County | 134 | Open |
| Nomahegan Park Local Park | County | 127 | Open |
| Lenape Park Local Park | County | 87 | Open |
| Cranford Township Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Union Co Local Park | County | 40 | Open |
| Rec Complex Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Orange Avenue Pool Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Bloomingdale Avenue School Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Unami Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 8 | Open |
| Sperry Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Cranford Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cranford Township
Mohawk Park
DirectionsSMS Playground
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cranford Township
Rahway River Access (stairs)In Hampton Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Cranford Township
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.4 mi
Unblazed Trail0.5 mi
Blue Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Baseball
15Tennis
13Soccer
9Basketball
2Football
1Lacrosse
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cranford Township: 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 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 Cranford Township →
Next door
Cranford Township and its neighbors
Cranford Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Cranford Township7.2 miWestfield7.1 miKenilworth6.7 miClark Township4.7 miLinden4.2 miRoselle0.9 miGarwood0.5 miRoselle Park0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranford Township | 14% | 1.5 | 20 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Kenilworth | 19% | 3.1 | 34 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Garwood | 6% | 0.8 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Westfield | 6% | 1.1 | 9 | 99% | A− |
| Linden | 3% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
| Clark Township | 23% | 1.1 | 32 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Roselle | 13% | 0.3 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Roselle Park | 4% | under 0.1 | 2 | 99%+ | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cranford Township
Where can I hike in Cranford Township?
The longest trail networks: Nomahegan Park, 1.5 miles; Unami Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cranford Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Cranford Township’s trails?
Nomahegan Park and Unami Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cranford Township?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cranford Township?
28,953 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cranford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 479 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cranford Township have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #105 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 Cranford Township 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 →