Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Island Heights
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Island Heights, 0.2 per square mile of land. 4% of Island Heights’ land is conserved, about 17 acres.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Island Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Island Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Island Heights is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Island Heights’ 4% is ahead of 22% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 18% of them.
Water is 34% of Island Heights’ area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Island Heights Methodist Camp Meeting Grounds
17 conserved acres
4% of Island Heights’ land. Water is left out: Island Heights has 0.6 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Island Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betty Scammell Memorial Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Borough Complex Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Camp Meeting Grounds Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Boy Scout Island Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Long Point Bathing Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Cozy Cove Marina Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Summit Avenue Bathing Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
6 places to go in Island Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
3 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 Island Heights: April to June
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 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 50 | 61 | 70 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Island Heights →
Island Heights 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Heights | 4% | 0.2 | 15 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Toms River Township | 9% | 0.8 | 31 | 77% | A− |
| Berkeley Township | 47% | 1.6 | 268 | 86% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Island Heights
How much of Island Heights is conserved land?
4% 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 Island Heights’ trails?
Wanamaker Field and Island Heights Methodist Camp Meeting Grounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Island Heights?
33,732 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Island Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Island Heights have?
Ahead of 68% 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 Island Heights 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 →