Glades Wildlife Refuge
Managed by Natural Lands
7,377 acres5.8 mi of trail
North TrailBald Eagle TrailMaple Street TrailGarrison Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
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 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Downe Township
Downe Township has 21,075 acres of parks, 12,866 for every 1,000 residents
40% of Downe Township’s land is conserved, about 12,411 acres. 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Glades Wildlife Refuge (5.8 mi), Millville Wildlife Management Area (3 mi), Egg Island Wildlife Management Area (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
12,411 acres · of 48.4 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
21,075 ac
12,866 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
5 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Downe Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Downe Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Downe Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Downe Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land12,866 acres of park per 1,000 residents (21,075 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home98% of 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 conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Downe Township’s 40% is ahead of 93% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 21% of them.
Water is 11% of Downe Township’s area (6 of 54 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 36%.
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 Glades Wildlife Refuge, with 5.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Millville Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
6,909 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Egg Island Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
6,086 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fortescue Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
1,961 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 7 parks & preserves
Glades Wildlife Refuge7,377 acres · 5.8 mi of trail · Natural Lands
DirectionsMillville Wildlife Management Area6,909 acres · 3 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
DirectionsEgg Island Wildlife Management Area6,086 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
DirectionsGandy's Beach Preserve983 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
Fortescue Wildlife Management Area1,961 acres · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
DirectionsNantuxent Wildlife Management Area258 acres · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Downe Township Open Space4 acres · Downe Township
Who protects it
12,411 conserved acres
40% of Downe Township’s land. Water is left out: Downe Township has 48.4 square miles of land and 5.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Downe Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife10,753 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4,370 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,372 ac
County66 ac
Town or city8 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
Other state land1 ac
State Resource Management Area · 6,891 acState Conservation Area · 5,829 acPrivate Conservation · 4,342 acConservation Easement · 1,770 acPrivate Agricultural · 181 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,375 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 94 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millville Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 12,037 | Open |
| Glades Wildlife Refuge Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,302 | Open |
| Gandy'S Beach Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 992 | Unknown |
| Delaware Bayshore Macrosite Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 776 | Unknown |
| Egg Island Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 421 | Open |
| Gandys Beach Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 225 | Open |
| Preserved Farmland Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 181 | Closed |
| Nantuxent Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 163 | Open |
| Gandy's Beach Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 112 | Closed |
| Fortescue Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 99 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Downe Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Downe Township
Fortescue Beach
DirectionsPlus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Downe Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Downe Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.9 mi
North Trail1.5 mi
Bald Eagle Trail1.0 mi
Maple Street Trail0.9 mi
Garrison Trail0.9 mi
Tat Starr Trail0.8 mi
Warfle Farm Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Downe 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 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Downe Township →
Next door
Downe Township and its neighbors
Downe Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Millville32 miDowne Township11 miCommercial Township7.0 miLawrence Township1.8 miMoney Island0.7 miNewport0.1 miFortescue0.0 miGandys Beach0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downe Township | 40% | 0.2 | 12,866 | 98% | A |
| Commercial Township | 51% | 0.2 | 1,777 | 94% | A |
| Lawrence Township | 44% | under 0.1 | 2,399 | 98% | A |
| Newport | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Millville | 34% | 0.8 | 295 | 84% | A+ |
| Fortescue | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Money Island | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gandys Beach | — 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 Downe Township
Where can I hike in Downe Township?
The longest trail networks: Glades Wildlife Refuge, 5.8 miles; Millville Wildlife Management Area, 3 miles; Egg Island Wildlife Management Area, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Downe Township is conserved land?
40% 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 Downe Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Glades Wildlife Refuge (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Downe Township?
91,157 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Downe Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 21,131 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Downe Township have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Downe 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 →