Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.020% of Norwood’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
20% of Norwood’s land is conserved, about 345 acres. 336 acres are parks and preserves, 59 per 1,000 residents. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Norwood, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #80 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Norwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Norwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Norwood is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #80 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Norwood’s 20% is ahead of 69% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
345 conserved acres
20% of Norwood’s land. Who manages Norwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hill Park Local Resource Management Area | County | 124 | Open |
| Rockleigh Golf Course Local Recreation Area | County | 89 | Open |
| Norwood Central Woods Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Kennedy Park Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Norwood Borough Wooded Lot Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Community Pool Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 7 | Restricted |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Norwood Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
5 named trails
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Norwood: 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 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Norwood →
Norwood and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood | 20% | 0.9 | 59 | 99% | A+ |
| Closter | 13% | 1.0 | 29 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Harrington Park | 14% | 1.0 | 33 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Northvale | 3% | 0.3 | 5 | 97% | B− |
| Rockleigh | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Alpine | 23% | 6.9 | 1,201 | 89% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Norwood
How much of Norwood is conserved land?
20% 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.
Is there public land near Norwood?
27,313 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Norwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 336 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Norwood have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #80 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 Norwood neighbors.
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 →