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ELLIS COOK HOUSE, EAST HANOVER, MORRIS COUNTYPhoto: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in East Hanover Township

20% of East Hanover Township’s land is conserved: 1,003 acres

1,024 acres are parks and preserves, 92 per 1,000 residents. 6.8 miles of mapped trail cross East Hanover Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Troy Meadows (2.2 mi), Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park (0.8 mi).

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #133 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
20%
1,003 acres · of 7.9 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,024 ac
92 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is East Hanover Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild20% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Room to roam92 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 77% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does East Hanover Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Hanover Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #133 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Hanover Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land92 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,024 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% 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 94%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 72%

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so East Hanover Township’s 20% is ahead of 70% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

1234
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 Troy Meadows, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Troy Meadows

Nature preserve
541 acres2.2 mi of trail
Patriots' Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park

Park
30 acres0.8 mi of trail
Patriots' Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Black Meadows Preserve

Nature preserve
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Camp Hope

Park
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Troy Meadows541 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
Directions
Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park30 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Directions
Camp Hope6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Black Meadows Preserve52 acres
Sommer Park3 acres
Directions
Town Square Park1 acres · East Hanover Township
Directions
Who protects it

1,003 conserved acres

20% of East Hanover Township’s land. Who manages East Hanover Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city474 ac
State natural resources258 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits224 ac
County45 ac
Not recorded83 ac
Local Conservation Area · 340 acState Park · 292 acPrivate Conservation · 208 acLocal Other or Unknown · 79 acLocal Park · 63 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 43 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Troy Meadows
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits352Open
Troy Meadows State Park
State Park
Not recorded292Open
Hatfield Swamp Wildlife Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Town or city81Open
Lurker Park
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city66Open
Ridgedale Airport
Local Conservation Area
Town or city58Open
Passaic River Blueway
Local Conservation Area
Town or city43Open
Pinch Brook Golf Course
Local Recreation Area
County38Open
Troy Road Greenway
Local Park
Town or city36Open
Whippany River Blueway
Local Park
Not recorded26Open
Camp Hope
Local Recreation Area
Town or city17Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

10 places to go in East Hanover Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in East Hanover Township
Totland PlaygroundIn Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park
Directions

Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.8 mi
Patriots' Path2.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Rockaway River
Biking & sports

0.6 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route)Bike route
2 mi
Courts & fields
17Baseball
11Tennis
10Soccer
4Basketball
3Tracks
2Beach volleyball
2Football
1Softball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Ellis Cook HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About it
First Presbyterian Church of HanoverBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Hanover Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in East Hanover 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.611.813.214.415.114.813.812.411.09.89.3
High (°F)394250637381868477655444
Rain (in)3.52.84.03.94.04.64.64.54.44.43.64.3

February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in East Hanover Township →

Next door

East Hanover Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Parsippany-Troy Hills Township43 miMontville Township19 miWest Caldwell Township8.9 miEast Hanover Township6.8 miHanover Township6.3 miRoseland5.5 miLivingston Township4.9 miPine Brook0.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
East Hanover Township20%0.99288%A
Hanover Township13%0.66199%+A
Pine Brook— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Livingston Township23%0.46399%+A
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township25%1.86799%A+
Montville Township23%1.012097%A+
West Caldwell Township19%1.75799%+A+
Roseland20%1.57594%A+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in East Hanover Township

Where can I hike in East Hanover Township?

The longest trail networks: Troy Meadows, 2.2 miles; Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park, 0.8 miles; Camp Hope, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of East Hanover Township is conserved land?

20% 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 East Hanover Township’s trails?

Troy Meadows and Joseph G. Lurker Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in East Hanover Township?

0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths. Named routes: 9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route).

Is there public land near East Hanover Township?

46,517 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Hanover Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,031 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does East Hanover Township have?

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #133 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 East Hanover Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →