Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Harrison
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Harrison, 2.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: West Hudson Park (2.5 mi), Harrison Riverfront Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #287 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Harrison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Harrison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harrison is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #287 of 468 in New Jersey. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Harrison’s 5% is ahead of 24% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 94% of them.
Water is 9% of Harrison’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is West Hudson Park, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Harrison Riverfront Park
38 conserved acres
5% of Harrison’s land. Water is left out: Harrison has 1.2 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Harrison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Hudson Park Local Park | County | 36 | Open |
| Veterans Plaza Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Municipal Ballfield Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in Harrison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Harrison: April to June, 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Harrison →
Harrison and its neighbors
Harrison has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison | 5% | 2.6 | 2 | 99%+ | A− |
| Newark | 4% | 0.9 | 3 | 97% | B+ |
| Kearny | 4% | 0.3 | 30 | 99% | A− |
| East Newark | 1% | 6.8 | 3 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Harrison
Where can I hike in Harrison?
The longest trail networks: West Hudson Park, 2.5 miles; Harrison Riverfront Park, 0.6 miles; Veterans Plaza, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Harrison is conserved land?
5% 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 Harrison’s trails?
West Hudson Park and Harrison Riverfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Harrison?
22,486 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harrison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 51 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harrison have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #287 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 Harrison neighbors.
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 →