Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. Park
Nature preserve
113 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Mansfield Township
Mansfield Township has 4,693 acres of parks, 603 for every 1,000 residents
32% of Mansfield Township’s land is conserved, about 6,143 acres. The biggest trail networks: Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. Park (1.8 mi). 13 miles of mapped trail cross Mansfield Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #206 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
6,143 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,693 ac
603 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,165 ft
Baldpate Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Mansfield Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mansfield Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mansfield Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #206 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mansfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land603 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,693 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home63% 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 of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 56%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Mansfield Township’s 32% is ahead of 86% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% 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 Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
6,143 conserved acres
32% of Mansfield Township’s land. Who manages Mansfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife5,792 ac
County2,877 ac
Other state land493 ac
Town or city128 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits124 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)48 ac
Not recorded380 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,219 acState Conservation Area · 3,122 acState Resource Management Area · 2,954 acLocal Other or Unknown · 277 acPrivate Conservation · 148 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,756 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 121 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pequest Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,597 | Open |
| Rockport Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,187 | Open |
| Musconetcong River Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 292 | Open |
| Morris Canal Local Other or Unknown | County | 277 | Open |
| Gurmon Wattles Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 175 | Unknown |
| Hackettstown State Fish Hatchery State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 46 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Mansfield Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Mansfield Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Mansfield Township
Baldpate Mountain1,165 ft elevation
DirectionsCounty House Mountain1,142 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Blue Trail1.5 mi
Morris Canal Trail (Yellow)1.3 mi
Red Trail1.0 mi
Yellow Trail0.8 mi
Bluebird Trail0.7 mi
Musconetcong River Trail0.5 mi
Trolly Line Trail (Dashed Blue)0.4 mi
Scrub Loop0.3 mi
Forest Loop0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
7Soccer
5Tennis
5Basketball
2Baseball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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 Mansfield Township: 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Mansfield Township →
Next door
Mansfield Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Washington Township41 miLebanon Township37 miMansfield Township13 miWashington Township12 miIndependence Township10 miHackettstown7.4 miBeattystown1.1 miOxford Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mansfield Township | 32% | 0.5 | 603 | 63% | A |
| Beattystown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Washington Township | 29% | 0.9 | 163 | 80% | A |
| Lebanon Township | 31% | 1.2 | 735 | 84% | A+ |
| Hackettstown | 21% | 2.0 | 35 | 93% | A+ |
| Washington Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Independence Township | 18% | 0.5 | 259 | 74% | A |
| Oxford Township | 21% | 0.2 | 535 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mansfield Township
Where can I hike in Mansfield Township?
The longest trail networks: Hector A. Park, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mansfield Township is conserved land?
32% 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 Mansfield Township’s trails?
Hector A. Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mansfield Township?
68,157 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mansfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,723 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mansfield Township have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #206 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 Mansfield 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 →