Scotland Run Park
Nature preserve
339 acres0.9 mi of trail
Perimeter TrailHolly TrailField TrailThe Tunnel+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Nature Center / Ranger
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 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 3,544 acres of parks, 215 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 5,941 acres. The biggest trail networks: Scotland Run Park (0.9 mi), Ashley Drive Park (0.5 mi). 5.3 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #341 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
5,941 acres · of 55.8 sq mi of land
Trails
5.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,544 ac
215 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.8 mi
8.8 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
7
5 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Franklin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #341 of 468 in New Jersey. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4CPark land215 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,544 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% 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 71%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 27%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 17% is ahead of 63% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 12% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Scotland Run Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ashley Drive Park
Park
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,941 conserved acres
17% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County2,827 ac
State fish & wildlife2,021 ac
Other state land1,649 ac
Town or city1,228 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government608 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits324 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)199 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,480 acState Conservation Area · 1,953 acLocal Park · 393 acUnknown Easement · 344 acLocal Conservation Area · 320 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,930 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 304 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Oak Branch Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,812 | Open |
| Scotland Run Park Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 656 | Open |
| White Oaks Golf Course State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 209 | Open |
| Unexpected Wildlife Refuge Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 143 | Open |
| Malaga Lake Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 107 | Open |
| Black Acres Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 79 | Open |
| Unexpected Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Refuge Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 66 | Open |
| Franklin Sports Complex Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 55 | Open |
| Willow Grove Lake Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 52 | Closed |
| Tuckahoe Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 37 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Franklin Township
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
Operation Safe Haven
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Perimeter Trail0.4 mi
Holly Trail0.2 mi
Field Trail0.1 mi
The Tunnel0.1 mi
Bridge Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
8.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
6Tennis
2Baseball
1Softball
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Franklin 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 45 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 17% | 0.1 | 215 | 56% | B+ |
| Monroe Township | 13% | 0.6 | 148 | 75% | A |
| Clayton | 37% | 1.0 | 176 | 56% | A |
| Pittsgrove Township | 32% | 0.3 | 450 | 41% | A− |
| Elk Township | 27% | 0.1 | 34 | 16% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Scotland Run Park, 0.9 miles; Ashley Drive Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
Scotland Run Park and Ashley Drive Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
8.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.8 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
60,058 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,544 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #341 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 Franklin 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 →