Belleplain State Forest
Nature preserve
6,058 acres32 mi of trail
Mountain Bike TrailEast Creek TrailSeashore Line TrailGoosekill Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Dennis Township
More than half of Dennis Township’s land is conserved: 62%
62% of Dennis Township’s land is conserved, about 23,867 acres. 9,166 acres are parks and preserves, 1,477 per 1,000 residents. 50 miles of mapped trail cross Dennis Township, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #141 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
62%
23,867 acres · of 60.4 sq mi of land
Trails
50 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
9,166 ac
1,477 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
59%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.5 mi
2.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Dennis Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild62% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Room to roam1,477 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 76% of U.S. towns.History along the way5 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dennis Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dennis Township is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #141 of 468 in New Jersey. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dennis Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land62% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (50 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land1,477 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9,166 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home59% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 93%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 70%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Dennis Township’s 62% is ahead of 99% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% of them.
Water is 6% of Dennis Township’s area (4 of 64 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 59%.
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 Belleplain State Forest, with 32 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
4,249 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
3,136 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2,663 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 10 parks & preserves
Belleplain State Forest6,058 acres · 32 mi of trail
DirectionsDennis Creek Wildlife Management Area4,249 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
DirectionsCape May National Wildlife Refuge2,663 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Peaslee Wildlife Management Area13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area3,136 acres
DirectionsBeaver Swamp Wildlife Management Area1,202 acres · New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife
Dennis Township Wetland Restoration Site587 acres · PSEG Estuary Enhancement Program
DirectionsEldora Nature Preserve230 acres · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsHeislerville Wildlife Management Area47 acres · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Dennis Township Recreation Center20 acres
Who protects it
23,867 conserved acres
62% of Dennis Township’s land. Water is left out: Dennis Township has 60.4 square miles of land and 3.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Dennis Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife14,157 ac
State natural resources9,839 ac
State parks7,654 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2,710 ac
County1,257 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,010 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government858 ac
State Resource Management Area · 31,649 acState Conservation Area · 9,756 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 2,710 acAgricultural Easement · 2,109 acPrivate Conservation · 1,013 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,663 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 28 of 229 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belleplain State Forest State Resource Management Area | State parks | 26,127 | Open |
| Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 8,764 | Open |
| Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,929 | Open |
| Cape May National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,710 | Restricted |
| Beaver Swamp Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,475 | Open |
| Eldora Preserve Site Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 411 | Unknown |
| Stilmar Sanctuaries Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 308 | Open |
| Eldora Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 261 | Open |
| Cape May County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | County | 160 | Open |
| Heislerville Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 97 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Dennis Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Dennis Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Dennis Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Dennis Township
Avalon Campground
DirectionsCCC Camping AreaIn Belleplain State Forest
DirectionsMeisle Camping AreaIn Belleplain State Forest
DirectionsNorth Shore Camping AreaIn Belleplain State Forest
DirectionsPlus 3 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
16 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.2 miHorses · 13.3 miUnpaved · 16.1 mi
Mountain Bike Trail8.8 mi
East Creek Trail6.4 mi
Seashore Line Trail3.0 mi
Kalker's Pond Trail1.7 mi
Boundary Trail0.7 mi
NJ State Long Trail0.6 mi
Goosekill Trail0.6 mi
Ponds Trail0.5 mi
Meisle Trail0.5 mi
North Shore Trail0.5 mi
6 more trails
Nature Trail 1
0.4 miNature Trail 2
0.4 miTrail Connector
0.3 miEagle Fitness Trail
0.2 miWoodbine Boulevard
0.1 miMeisle Road/Tom Field Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Mountain Bike TrailBike route
9.6 miEast Creek TrailBike route
6.4 miSeashore Line TrailBike route
3.1 miTom Field TrailBike route
1.9 miKalker's Pond TrailBike route
1.7 miTurtle Walk TrailBike route
1.4 miDundrea TrailBike route
1.3 miCourts & fields
10Baseball
6Basketball
3Tennis
1Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Calvary Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1980
About itWilliam S. Townsend HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itHenry Ludlam HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itJoseph Falkinburg HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itThomas Jr. Ludlam HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itDennisville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Dennis Township: April to June
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 45 | 52 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Dennis Township →
Next door
Dennis Township and its neighbors
Dennis Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Maurice River Township56 miDennis Township50 miMiddle Township25 miUpper Township20 miBelleplain19 miSea Isle City1.6 miOcean View0.6 miSouth Dennis0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Township | 62% | 0.8 | 1,477 | 59% | A |
| Middle Township | 54% | 0.4 | 775 | 81% | A |
| Maurice River Township | 58% | 0.6 | 4,581 | 49% | A |
| Upper Township | 56% | 0.3 | 924 | 95% | A |
| South Dennis | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sea Isle City | 41% | 0.7 | 297 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Belleplain | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ocean View | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dennis Township
Where can I hike in Dennis Township?
The longest trail networks: Belleplain State Forest, 32 miles; Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area, 0.8 miles; Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dennis Township is conserved land?
62% 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 Dennis Township’s trails?
Belleplain State Forest and Dennis Creek Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dennis Township?
2.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths. Named routes: Mountain Bike Trail, East Creek Trail and Seashore Line Trail.
Is there public land near Dennis Township?
132,149 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dennis Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19,344 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dennis Township have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #141 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 Dennis 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 →