Shark River Park
Nature preserve
74 acres0.6 mi of trail
Shark River Run
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dorian Wallender from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Neptune Township
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Neptune Township
8.4 miles of mapped trail cross Neptune Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Shark River Park (0.6 mi). 628 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #265 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
129 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
8.4 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
628 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Neptune Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Neptune Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Neptune Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #265 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Neptune Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (628 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home99% 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 82%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 43%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Neptune Township’s 2% is ahead of 13% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
Water is 8% of Neptune Township’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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 Shark River Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boswell Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
129 conserved acres
2% of Neptune Township’s land. Water is left out: Neptune Township has 8.1 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Neptune Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city127 ac
Private owners2 ac
County2 ac
Local Recreation Area · 80 acLocal Park · 32 acLocal Conservation Area · 11 acLocal Resource Management Area · 7 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunshine Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Hill Drive Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Shark River Hills Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Shark River Municipal Marina Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Dianne Drive Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Jumping Brook Ballfields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Veteran's Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Old Corlies Avenue Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Lake Alberta Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Melrose Avenue Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Neptune Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Neptune Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Neptune Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Shark River Run0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Tennis
7Baseball
3Basketball
2Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association DistrictDistrict · listed 1976
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Neptune Township: April to July
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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 51 | 62 | 71 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Neptune Township →
Next door
Neptune Township and its neighbors
Neptune Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wall Township65 miNeptune Township8.4 miTinton Falls3.4 miBelmar2.0 miAsbury Park0.7 miOcean Grove0.4 miBradley Beach0.2 miNeptune City0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neptune Township | 2% | 1.0 | 22 | 99% | A− |
| Wall Township | 13% | 2.1 | 165 | 95% | A+ |
| Neptune City | 2% | 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | B− |
| Belmar | 11% | 1.9 | 14 | 99%+ | A |
| Tinton Falls | 4% | 0.2 | 38 | 95% | B+ |
| Ocean Grove | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Asbury Park | 1% | 0.5 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
| Bradley Beach | 1% | 0.3 | 12 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Neptune Township
Where can I hike in Neptune Township?
The longest trail networks: Shark River Park, 0.6 miles; Founder's Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Neptune Township 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 Neptune Township’s trails?
Shark River Park and Founder's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Neptune Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map.
Is there public land near Neptune Township?
20,444 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Neptune Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 628 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Neptune Township have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #265 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 Neptune 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 →