Joseph W. Sesselman Park
Park
2 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Wangyeah, babyknight, Roman Fuchs, Jim.henderson · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in East Rutherford
East Rutherford has 44 acres of parks, 4.3 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross East Rutherford, 0.4 per square mile of land. 2% of East Rutherford’s land is conserved, about 54 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #420 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
54 acres · of 3.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
44 ac
4.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is East Rutherford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does East Rutherford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Rutherford is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #420 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Rutherford’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (44 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13CParks close to home94% 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 52%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 10%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so East Rutherford’s 2% is ahead of 10% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 36% of them.
Water is 8% of East Rutherford’s area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Joseph W. Sesselman Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lehrer Tract
Nature preserve
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Memorial Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Joseph W. Sesselman Park2 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLiberty Crossing Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLehrer Tract34 acres
Memorial Park1 acres
Anthony Gallo Park1 acres
Who protects it
54 conserved acres
2% of East Rutherford’s land. Water is left out: East Rutherford has 3.7 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages East Rutherford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency31 ac
Town or city23 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 16 acLocal Recreation Area · 15 acLocal Conservation Area · 12 acLocal Park · 7 acState Resource Management Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Murray Hill Property Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 12 | Restricted |
| Riggin Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Snipes Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Harbor Estuary State Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| McKenzie Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Softball Fields Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in East Rutherford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in East Rutherford
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in East Rutherford
Cottage Place Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in East Rutherford
The Backyard
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Rutherford Highline Trail0.7 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
5Football
4Baseball
3Tennis
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Richard Outwater HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in East Rutherford: 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 | 13.2 | 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) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in East Rutherford →
Next door
East Rutherford and its neighbors
East Rutherford has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Rutherford | 2% | 0.4 | 4 | 94% | B− |
| Carlstadt | 13% | under 0.1 | 54 | 99%+ | A− |
| Rutherford | 3% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| Secaucus | 16% | 1.0 | 30 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Wallington | 4% | 1.3 | 3 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in East Rutherford
Where can I hike in East Rutherford?
The longest trail networks: Joseph W. Sesselman Park, 0.4 miles; Liberty Crossing Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of East Rutherford is conserved land?
2% 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 Rutherford’s trails?
Joseph W. Sesselman Park and Lehrer Tract don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near East Rutherford?
23,385 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Rutherford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 44 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does East Rutherford have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #420 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 Rutherford 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 →