Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve
Nature preserve
48 acres0.7 mi of trail
Òpalanie Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
United States Post Office · Photo: KForce · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Metuchen
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Metuchen
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.9 miles of mapped trail cross Metuchen, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve (0.7 mi), Myrtle-Charles Park (0.6 mi), Woodwild Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #331 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
29 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
116 ac
7.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Metuchen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Metuchen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Metuchen is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #331 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Metuchen’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (116 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 29%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Metuchen’s 2% is ahead of 6% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% of them.
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 Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Woodwild Park
Managed by Woodwild Park Association
5 acres0.5 mi of trail
Maple Avenue Extension
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve48 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsMyrtle-Charles Park11 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWoodwild Park5 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Woodwild Park Association
Hampton Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOakland Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsVidas Park6 acres
DirectionsKentnor Street Park2 acres
Thomas Park2 acres
Olmezer Park1 acres
Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsCenter Street Park1 acres
Who protects it
29 conserved acres
2% of Metuchen’s land. Who manages Metuchen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city25 ac
County8 ac
Local Park · 33 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal Pool Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Middlesex County Rail To Trail Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
| Edgar Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Woodland Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Thomas Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Center Street Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Metuchen Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Metuchen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Metuchen
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Metuchen
Franklin Playground
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.3 mi
Òpalanie Trail0.3 mi
Maple Avenue Extension0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
1.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
10Soccer
9Tennis
8Basketball
5Tracks
3Softball
2Football
1Beach volleyball
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 Metuchen: April to June and August
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 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Metuchen →
Questions about parks and trails in Metuchen
Where can I hike in Metuchen?
The longest trail networks: Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve, 0.7 miles; Myrtle-Charles Park, 0.6 miles; Woodwild Park, 0.5 miles; Oakland Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Metuchen is conserved land?
2% 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 Metuchen’s trails?
Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve and Myrtle-Charles Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Metuchen?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths and 1.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Metuchen?
28,275 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Metuchen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 116 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Metuchen have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #331 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 Metuchen 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 →