Pine Hill Section of South Branch Reservation
Managed by Hunterdon County
34 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
23% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 3,404 acres
524 acres are parks and preserves, 160 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Pine Hill Section of South Branch Reservation (0.5 mi). 5.2 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #281 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
3,404 acres · of 23.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
524 ac
160 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
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 79% of U.S. towns, #281 of 468 in New Jersey. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land160 acres of park per 1,000 residents (524 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home60% 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 79%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 40%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 23% is ahead of 76% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 21% 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 Pine Hill Section of South Branch Reservation, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Landsdown Meadows
Managed by Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation
173 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Landsdown Meadows Parking
Pine Hill Section
Managed by Hunderton County
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,404 conserved acres
23% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County2,904 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,310 ac
Town or city826 ac
Other state land510 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits487 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)389 ac
Joint59 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,689 acLocal Conservation Area · 356 acUnknown Easement · 168 acLocal Park · 112 acPrivate Agricultural · 77 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,751 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 36 of 143 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Branch River Reserve Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 263 | Open |
| Grassland Birds Private Agricultural | Land trusts & nonprofits | 69 | Open |
| unknown Private Conservation | Not recorded | 63 | Open |
| Wickecheoke Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 58 | Closed |
| Franklin Open Space Plan Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 57 | Open |
| Franklin Township Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Capoolong Creek Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 46 | Open |
| Landsdown Trail Local Conservation Area | County | 38 | Open |
| Landsdown Meadows Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Hunterdon Land Trust Forest Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.1 mi
Capoolong Creek Trail3.9 mi
Capoolong Creak Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Capoolong Creek TrailBike route
3.8 miCourts & fields
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Franklin Township: April to June and August
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 49 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clinton Township33 miKingwood Township18 miAlexandria Township15 miDelaware Township10 miRaritan Township8.9 miUnion Township7.7 miFranklin Township5.2 miClinton0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 23% | 0.2 | 160 | 60% | A− |
| Clinton Township | 37% | 1.1 | 463 | 78% | A+ |
| Union Township | 43% | 0.4 | 673 | 95% | A+ |
| Raritan Township | 15% | 0.2 | 105 | 64% | A− |
| Alexandria Township | 26% | 0.5 | 237 | 52% | A |
| Clinton | 13% | 0.3 | 89 | 99%+ | A |
| Kingwood Township | 23% | 0.5 | 563 | 50% | A |
| Delaware Township | 34% | 0.3 | 445 | 68% | A |
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: Pine Hill Section of South Branch Reservation, 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?
23% 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?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Landsdown Meadows (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: Capoolong Creek Trail.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
45,598 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 524 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #281 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 →