Watchung Reservation
Park
792 acres13.9 mi of trail
White TrailPurple TrailSierra TrailPurple / Yellow Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Bryan Housel · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Mountainside
38% of Mountainside’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Mountainside, 3.9 per square mile of land. 38% of Mountainside’s land is conserved, about 974 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
38%
974 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
3.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
992 ac
141 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Mountainside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mountainside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mountainside is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs put Mountainside near the top nationally; trail miles rank highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mountainside’s overall grade.
Conserved land38% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land141 acres of park per 1,000 residents (992 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks 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)Among the top 1%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)#1 of 468
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Mountainside’s 38% is ahead of 92% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% of them.
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.
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 Watchung Reservation, with 13.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boy Scout Camping Area, Watchung Reservation
Managed by County of Union Department of Parks and Recreation
8 acres0.2 mi of trail
Purple Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Who protects it
974 conserved acres
38% of Mountainside’s land. Who manages Mountainside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County969 ac
Town or city8 ac
Local Conservation Area · 814 acLocal Park · 139 acLocal Other or Unknown · 22 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watchung Reservation Local Conservation Area | County | 815 | Open |
| Echo Lake Park Local Park | County | 136 | Open |
| Union Co Local Park | County | 18 | Open |
| Mountainside Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Municipal Pool Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
22 places to go in Mountainside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Mountainside
The Loop PlaygroundIn Watchung Reservation
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Mountainside
Echo Lake Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Mountainside
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Mountainside
Evergreen Picnic AreaIn Watchung Reservation
DirectionsOak Grove Picnic AreaIn Watchung Reservation
DirectionsPlus 8 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Mountainside
Demonstration Gardens of the Master Gardeners of Union County, NJIn Watchung Reservation · Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County, NJ
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 5.8 miUnpaved · 6.9 mi
White Trail2.6 mi
Purple Trail1.7 mi
Sierra Trail1.2 mi
Purple / Yellow Trail0.7 mi
Orange Trail0.5 mi
Blue Trail0.4 mi
Yellow Trail0.4 mi
Red Trail0.3 mi
Green / Purple / White Trail0.2 mi
Blue / White Trail0.2 mi
3 more trails
Red / White Trail
0.1 miOrange / Sierra Trail
0.1 miGreen / White / Yellow Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
6Tennis
5Equestrian
4Pickleball
3Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mountainside: 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 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 85 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Mountainside →
Next door
Mountainside and its neighbors
Mountainside has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountainside | 38% | 3.9 | 141 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Berkeley Heights Township | 14% | 1.5 | 45 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Westfield | 6% | 1.1 | 9 | 99% | A− |
| Summit | 12% | 1.2 | 24 | 94% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mountainside
Where can I hike in Mountainside?
The longest trail networks: Watchung Reservation, 13.9 miles; Boy Scout Camping Area, Watchung Reservation, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mountainside is conserved land?
38% 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 Mountainside’s trails?
Watchung Reservation and Boy Scout Camping Area, Watchung Reservation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mountainside?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mountainside?
29,423 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mountainside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 992 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mountainside have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 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 Mountainside 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 →