Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 4.05,234 acres are parks and preserves, 629 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area (9.8 mi), Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area (2.9 mi). 24 miles of mapped trail cross Hardyston Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #138 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hardyston Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #138 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Hardyston Township’s 45% is ahead of 95% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Hamburg Mountain WMA, with 9.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
45% of Hardyston Township’s land. Who manages Hardyston Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,887 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 61 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,816 | Open |
| Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,734 | Open |
| Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 490 | Restricted |
| Kittatinny Valley State Park State Park | State natural resources | 143 | Open |
| Congleton Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 117 | Open |
| Sparta Mountain Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 113 | Open |
| unknown Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 103 | Open |
| Beaver Lake Mountain Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 100 | Open |
| Hardyston Township Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Sussex County Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 25 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hardyston Township →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardyston Township | 45% | 0.7 | 629 | 68% | A |
| Wantage Township | 33% | 0.4 | 419 | 47% | A− |
| Franklin | 10% | 0.2 | 59 | 99%+ | A |
| Vernon Township | 61% | 1.7 | 661 | 75% | A+ |
| Lafayette Township | 21% | 0.4 | 383 | 77% | A |
| Sparta Township | 20% | 0.7 | 278 | 88% | A |
| Ogdensburg | 24% | under 0.1 | 215 | 99%+ | A |
| Jefferson Township | 52% | 2.1 | 519 | 92% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area, 9.8 miles; Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
45% 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.
Hamburg Mountain Wildlife Management Area and Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
108,723 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hardyston Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,234 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #138 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Hardyston Township neighbors.
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 →