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Paper Mill Playhouse entrancePhoto: Goldfishbutt · Public domain
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Millburn Township

Millburn Township has 34 miles of mapped trails, 3.6 for every square mile of land

29% of Millburn Township’s land is conserved, about 1,741 acres. 1,731 acres are parks and preserves, 78 per 1,000 residents. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #34 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
29%
1,741 acres · of 9.3 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
3.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,731 ac
78 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
302 ft
Nook Hill
Lakes & rivers
9

What kind of outdoors town is Millburn Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town3.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 98% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild29% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Parks close to home91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Millburn Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Millburn Township is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #34 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Millburn Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land78 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,731 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home91% 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 98%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 93%

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Millburn Township’s 29% is ahead of 84% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.

Water is 6% of Millburn Township’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 28%.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

123
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 South Mountain Reservation, with 24.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

South Mountain Reservation

Nature preserve
947 acres24.1 mi of trail
Lenape Trail (Yellow)Elmdale Trail (Blue)West Ridge TrailRiver Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Elmdale Parking Lot

Taylor Park

Park
14 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Short Hills Park

Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Lot 11
Who protects it

1,741 conserved acres

29% of Millburn Township’s land. Water is left out: Millburn Township has 9.3 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Millburn Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County913 ac
Town or city801 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government55 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits25 ac
Not recorded53 ac
Local Conservation Area · 1,465 acLocal Other or Unknown · 176 acLocal Park · 126 acRecreation or Education Easement · 55 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 25 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
South Mountain Reservation
Local Conservation Area
County966Open
East Orange Water Reserve
Local Conservation Area
Town or city645Open
Old Short Hills Park
Local Park
Town or city48Open
Gero Park
Local Park
Town or city41Open
Fox Hill Preserve
Local Park
Town or city33Open
Greenwood Gardens
Private Historic or Cultural
Land trusts & nonprofits25Open
Hartshorn Arboretum Bird Sanctuary
Local Conservation Area
Town or city17Open
Taylor Park
Local Park
Town or city15Open
Millburn Township Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city2Open
Wuhula Woods
Local Conservation Area
Town or city1Open
Things to do

10 places to go in Millburn Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Scenic views in Millburn Township
Crater ViewIn South Mountain Reservation
Directions
Washington RockIn South Mountain Reservation
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 9.4 mi
Lenape Trail (Yellow)3.1 mi
Elmdale Trail (Blue)2.4 mi
West Ridge Trail1.9 mi
Rahway Trail (White)1.6 mi
River Trail1.3 mi
Sunset Trail0.9 mi
Pingry Trail0.9 mi
Swampy Trail0.8 mi
Overlook Trail0.8 mi
Crest Trail0.7 mi
15 more trails
Unblazed Trail
0.6 mi
Orange Trail
0.6 mi
Lenape Yellow Blaze
0.5 mi
Grassy Trail
0.5 mi
Rahway Lower Ext White/Red
0.5 mi
West Connector Green/White
0.5 mi
Painters Point Trail (Blue-White)
0.4 mi
Maple Falls Trail
0.4 mi
Rahway Upper Ext Red/White
0.4 mi
Rahway Trail White
0.4 mi
Red Blaze
0.3 mi
Oakdale Trail (Red)
0.3 mi
Orange
0.3 mi
Aqual Trail
0.3 mi
South Lavender Loop Trail
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Campbells PondreservoirCanoe Brook Reservoir Number OnereservoirCanoe Brook Reservoir Number TworeservoirDiamond Mill PondreservoirNorth PondpondSouth PondpondTaylor LakereservoirRahway RiverRahway River West Branch
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
42Tennis
10Baseball
6Basketball
5Pickleball
5Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
1Lacrosse

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Short Hills Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Millburn 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.114.813.812.411.09.89.3
High (°F)404251637381868477655444
Rain (in)3.52.94.13.94.14.64.74.54.44.43.64.4

February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Millburn Township →

Next door

Millburn Township and its neighbors

Millburn Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Millburn Township34 miSummit7.3 miSpringfield Township6.8 miShort Hills4.9 miLivingston Township4.9 miUnion Township3.5 miFlorham Park1.8 miChatham1.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Millburn Township29%3.67891%A+
Short Hills— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Union Township10%0.41199%+A−
Springfield Township16%1.33098%A+
Florham Park11%0.23999%A−
Chatham16%0.72599%+A
Summit12%1.22494%A
Livingston Township23%0.46399%+A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Millburn Township

Where can I hike in Millburn Township?

The longest trail networks: South Mountain Reservation, 24.1 miles; Taylor Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Millburn Township is conserved land?

29% 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 Millburn Township’s trails?

South Mountain Reservation and Taylor Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Millburn Township?

37,902 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Millburn Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,731 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Millburn Township have?

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Millburn Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →