Frenchtown Preserve
Nature preserve
147 acres7.1 mi of trail
Green TrailRed TrailOrange TrailBlue Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Frenchtown
26% of Frenchtown’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Frenchtown, 7.3 per square mile of land. 26% of Frenchtown’s land is conserved, about 187 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
187 acres · of 1.1 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
7.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
202 ac
115 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 1.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Frenchtown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Frenchtown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Frenchtown is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs put Frenchtown near the top nationally; trail miles rank highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Frenchtown’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails7.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land115 acres of park per 1,000 residents (202 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Frenchtown’s 26% is ahead of 78% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 100% of them.
Water is 8% of Frenchtown’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 24%.
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.
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 Frenchtown Preserve, with 7.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park
Managed by New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry
162 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto D&R Canal Trail ParkingWebsite ↗
Who protects it
187 conserved acres
26% of Frenchtown’s land. Water is left out: Frenchtown has 1.1 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Frenchtown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits163 ac
State natural resources148 ac
Town or city25 ac
Unknown Easement · 151 acState Park · 148 acLocal Park · 16 acPrivate Conservation · 12 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park State Park | State natural resources | 148 | Open |
| Frenchtown Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Delaware River Bluffs Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 12 | Open |
| Plessy Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Frenchtown Borough Wooded Lot Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Frenchtown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Frenchtown
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.2 miHorses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 8.1 mi
Green Trail1.8 mi
Red Trail1.7 mi
Orange Trail1.5 mi
Yellow Trail1.1 mi
Blue Trail1.1 mi
Mill Race Trail0.9 mi
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
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).
Frenchtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Frenchtown: 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) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Frenchtown →
Next door
Frenchtown 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchtown | 26% | 7.3 | 115 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Alexandria Township | 26% | 0.5 | 237 | 52% | A |
| Kingwood Township | 23% | 0.5 | 563 | 50% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Frenchtown
Where can I hike in Frenchtown?
The longest trail networks: Frenchtown Preserve, 7.1 miles; Frenchtown Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Frenchtown is conserved land?
26% 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 Frenchtown’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Frenchtown?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Frenchtown?
25,692 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Frenchtown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 202 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Frenchtown have?
Among the top 1% 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 Frenchtown 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 →