1-E Landfill
Managed by New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
214 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Hudconja · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kearny
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Kearny
The biggest trail networks: 1-E Landfill (1.9 mi). 1,230 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Kearny’s land is conserved, about 212 acres.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #305 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
212 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,230 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Kearny?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kearny have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kearny is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #305 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kearny’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,230 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home99% 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 77%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 35%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Kearny’s 4% is ahead of 18% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
Water is 14% of Kearny’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 1-E Landfill, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
544 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Kearny Brackish Marsh
Managed by New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
192 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
1-E Landfill214 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
DirectionsSaw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area544 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
West Hudson Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKearny Brackish Marsh192 acres · New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
Kearny Marsh97 acres
DirectionsKearny Riverbank Park34 acres
DirectionsGunnell Oval Complex23 acres
Veterans Memorial Field14 acres
DirectionsRichard W. DeKorte Park2 acres
Manor Park2 acres
Arlington Park1 acres
Who protects it
212 conserved acres
4% of Kearny’s land. Water is left out: Kearny has 8.8 square miles of land and 1.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Kearny’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city147 ac
County52 ac
Regional agency12 ac
Local Conservation Area · 96 acLocal Park · 60 acLocal Recreation Area · 32 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kearny Marsh Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 96 | Open |
| Arlington Memorial Park Local Park | County | 46 | Open |
| Gunnel Oval Ballfields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Harcey Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| West Hudson Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Kearny High School Field Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Saw Mill Creek Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Fairlawn Manor Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Kearny
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kearny
Coogan PlaygroundIn Manor Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Kearny
3 dog parks without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Kearny
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
5Soccer
5Basketball
2Football
1Tennis
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kearny: 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 | 51 | 62 | 72 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kearny →
Next door
Kearny and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Jersey City23 miNewark23 miLyndhurst Township7.0 miSecaucus5.8 miNorth Arlington4.1 miHarrison3.2 miKearny2.9 miEast Newark0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kearny | 4% | 0.3 | 30 | 99% | A− |
| Lyndhurst Township | 10% | 1.5 | 34 | 95% | A |
| North Arlington | 2% | 1.7 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Newark | 4% | 0.9 | 3 | 97% | B+ |
| Jersey City | 18% | 1.6 | 4 | 99%+ | A |
| Harrison | 5% | 2.6 | 2 | 99%+ | A− |
| Secaucus | 16% | 1.0 | 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 Kearny
Where can I hike in Kearny?
The longest trail networks: 1-E Landfill, 1.9 miles; Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kearny 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 Kearny’s trails?
1-E Landfill and Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kearny?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kearny?
29,962 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kearny or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,230 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kearny have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #305 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 Kearny 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 →