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Halsey StationPhoto: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hampton Township

40% of Hampton Township’s land is conserved: 6,267 acres

4,226 acres are parks and preserves, 860 per 1,000 residents. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Swartswood State Park (4.2 mi), Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area (1 mi), Hampton Township Park (0.5 mi).

Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #66 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
40%
6,267 acres · of 24.6 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,226 ac
860 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Highest peak
1,440 ft
Blue Mountain
Lakes & rivers
10
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Hampton Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild40% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Room to roam860 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Parks close to home93% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Hampton Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hampton Township is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #66 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hampton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land860 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,226 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 97%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 86%

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Hampton Township’s 40% is ahead of 93% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 49% 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.

1234
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 Swartswood State Park, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Swartswood State Park

Nature preserve
585 acres4.2 mi of trail
Spring Lake TrailPassage TrailSinkhole TrailEmmons Path Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area

Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
1,404 acres1 mi of trail
Great Valley TrailPaulinskill Valley Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Hampton Township Park

Park
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Bear Swamp Wildlife Management Area

Managed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife
1,432 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Swartswood State Park585 acres · 4.2 mi of trail
Directions
Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area1,404 acres · 1 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Directions
Hampton Township Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Directions
Stokes State Forest84 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Bear Swamp Wildlife Management Area1,432 acres · New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife
Scarpula Field3 acres
East Shore Beach2 acres
West Shore Beach1 acres
Who protects it

6,267 conserved acres

40% of Hampton Township’s land. Who manages Hampton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State fish & wildlife4,545 ac
County1,645 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,322 ac
State natural resources1,302 ac
State parks1,020 ac
State conservation237 ac
Other state land187 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,044 acAgricultural Easement · 1,925 acState Park · 1,875 acState Conservation Area · 1,808 acUnknown Easement · 1,267 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,083 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 116 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area
State Resource Management Area
State fish & wildlife2,817Open
Swartswood State Park
State Park
State natural resources1,871Open
Bear Swamp Wildlife Management Area
State Resource Management Area
State fish & wildlife1,729Open
Paulinskill Valley Trail
State Recreation Area
State natural resources254Open
Stokes State Forest
State Resource Management Area
State parks168Open
Bear Swamp
State Conservation Area
State Department of Land114Open
Paulinskill River Greenway
State Resource Management Area
State natural resources24Open
Hampton Township Athletic Facility
Local Recreation Area
Town or city16Open
Kittatinny Valley State Park
State Park
State natural resources4Open
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area
National Park Service2Open
Things to do

5 places to go in Hampton Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Hampton Township
Blue Mountain1,440 ft elevation · In Stokes State Forest
Directions
Smiths Hill863 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

8 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.0 miHorses · 12.1 miUnpaved · 6.4 mi
Paulinskill Valley Trail5.7 mi
Great Valley Trail3.8 mi
Spring Lake Trail1.7 mi
Passage Trail0.4 mi
Sinkhole Trail0.3 mi
Emmons Path Trail0.3 mi
Appalachian Trail0.2 mi
Connector Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Clearview LakereservoirCrandon LakesreservoirLake AnnelakeLake KemahreservoirLittle Swartswood LakereservoirPaulins Kill LakelakeReynolds LakereservoirSpring LakelakeThomas Rich LakereservoirPaulins Kill
Biking & sports

0.1 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route)Bike route
5.7 mi
Paulinskill Valley TrailBike route
5.7 mi
Great Valley TrailBike route
3.8 mi
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Softball
1Football
1Tennis
1Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

The best walking months in Hampton Township: April and May

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.611.813.314.515.114.813.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)363948617179848275635141
Rain (in)3.32.73.83.73.84.64.64.64.54.53.33.9

February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Hampton Township →

Next door

Hampton Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Andover Township37 miFrankford Township18 miHampton Township17 miStillwater Township16 miLafayette Township7.5 miFredon Township6.1 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Hampton Township40%0.786093%A+
Stillwater Township43%0.61,35992%A+
Lafayette Township21%0.438377%A
Fredon Township30%0.358071%A
Andover Township24%1.839472%A+
Frankford Township28%0.542267%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Hampton Township

Where can I hike in Hampton Township?

The longest trail networks: Swartswood State Park, 4.2 miles; Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area, 1 miles; Hampton Township Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Hampton Township is conserved land?

40% 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 Hampton Township’s trails?

Swartswood State Park and Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Hampton Township?

0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: 9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route), Paulinskill Valley Trail and Great Valley Trail.

Is there public land near Hampton Township?

119,382 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hampton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,313 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Hampton Township have?

Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #66 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 Hampton Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →