Douglas A. Blake Memorial Field
Managed by Hackettstown Recreation Commission
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Aumecg · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hackettstown
Hackettstown has 7.4 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
21% of Hackettstown’s land is conserved, about 490 acres. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 358 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #82 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
490 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
358 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Hackettstown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hackettstown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hackettstown is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #82 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hackettstown’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (358 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home93% 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 96%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 83%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Hackettstown’s 21% is ahead of 72% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 90% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Douglas A. Blake Memorial Field, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
490 conserved acres
21% of Hackettstown’s land. Who manages Hackettstown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife533 ac
Town or city60 ac
State natural resources55 ac
State parks38 ac
County16 ac
Not recorded55 ac
State Other or Unknown · 431 acState Park · 109 acState Conservation Area · 102 acLocal Other or Unknown · 72 acState Recreation Area · 38 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hackettstown State Fish Hatchery State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 431 | Open |
| Allamuchy Mountain State Park State Park | Not recorded | 108 | Open |
| Rockport Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 102 | Open |
| Hackettstown Riverfront Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Stephens State Park State Recreation Area | State parks | 40 | Open |
| Morris Canal Local Other or Unknown | County | 17 | Open |
| Community Pool Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Tannery Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Hackettstown Rec Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Hackettstown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hackettstown
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Hackettstown
Musconetcong River Fishing Access
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hackettstown
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 4.7 mi
Morris Canal Greenway1.6 mi
Florence Kuipers Park0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Soccer
13Baseball
6Basketball
4Football
2Tennis
1Softball
1Pickleball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Hackettstown: April, May, 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) | 36 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 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 Hackettstown →
Next door
Hackettstown and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mount Olive Township82 miAllamuchy Township45 miWashington Township41 miMansfield Township13 miIndependence Township10 miHackettstown7.4 miBeattystown1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackettstown | 21% | 2.0 | 35 | 93% | A+ |
| Mount Olive Township | 31% | 2.8 | 229 | 99% | A+ |
| Mansfield Township | 32% | 0.5 | 603 | 63% | A |
| Beattystown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Independence Township | 18% | 0.5 | 259 | 74% | A |
| Washington Township | 29% | 0.9 | 163 | 80% | A |
| Allamuchy Township | 38% | 2.3 | 916 | 87% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hackettstown
Where can I hike in Hackettstown?
The longest trail networks: Douglas A. Blake Memorial Field, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hackettstown is conserved land?
21% 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 Hackettstown’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Douglas A. Blake Memorial Field (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hackettstown?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hackettstown?
56,462 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hackettstown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 574 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hackettstown have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 Hackettstown 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 →