Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
88 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lafayette Township
Lafayette Township has 898 acres of parks, 383 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Lafayette Township’s land is conserved, about 2,418 acres. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.5 miles of mapped trail cross Lafayette Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
2,418 acres · of 17.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.5 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
898 ac
383 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Lafayette Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lafayette Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lafayette Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lafayette Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land383 acres of park per 1,000 residents (898 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 89%
LessMore
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Lafayette Township’s 21% is ahead of 72% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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.
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 Paulinskill River WMA, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Congleton Preserve
Managed by New Jersey Natural Lands Trust
85 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,418 conserved acres
21% of Lafayette Township’s land. Who manages Lafayette Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,775 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,180 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits390 ac
Town or city367 ac
Other state land181 ac
State fish & wildlife174 ac
State natural resources174 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,063 acUnknown Easement · 1,416 acState Recreation Area · 340 acLocal Resource Management Area · 264 acState Conservation Area · 218 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,685 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 101 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex Branch Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 340 | Open |
| Blue Heron Rookery Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 264 | Open |
| Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 174 | Open |
| Congleton Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 85 | Open |
| Lafayette Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Warbasse Road Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Crooked Swamp Cave Preserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 36 | Open |
| Crooked Swamp Caves State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 10 | Restricted |
| Lafayette Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.7 miHorses · 6.4 miUnpaved · 4.1 mi
Sussex Branch Trail3.6 mi
Paulinskill Valley Trail2.8 mi
Lafayette Lawler Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Sussex Branch TrailBike route
3.6 miPaulinskill Valley TrailBike route
2.8 mi9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route)Bike route
1.5 miHistory along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Lafayette Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lafayette Township: April, May, July 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Lafayette Township →
Next door
Lafayette Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Andover Township37 miSparta Township27 miHardyston Township24 miFrankford Township18 miHampton Township17 miLafayette Township7.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Township | 21% | 0.4 | 383 | 77% | A |
| Hampton Township | 40% | 0.7 | 860 | 93% | A+ |
| Hardyston Township | 45% | 0.7 | 629 | 68% | A |
| Sparta Township | 20% | 0.7 | 278 | 88% | A |
| Frankford Township | 28% | 0.5 | 422 | 67% | A |
| Andover Township | 24% | 1.8 | 394 | 72% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lafayette Township
Where can I hike in Lafayette Township?
The longest trail networks: Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lafayette Township is conserved land?
21% 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 Lafayette Township’s trails?
Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area and Congleton Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lafayette Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Sussex Branch Trail, Paulinskill Valley Trail and 9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route).
Is there public land near Lafayette Township?
95,847 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lafayette Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 898 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lafayette Township have?
Ahead of 89% 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 Lafayette Township 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 →