Garret Mountain Reservation
Nature preserve
109 acres2.6 mi of trail
Yellow TrailWhite TrailMorris Canal Greenway5k Course Finish
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Paterson
5% of Paterson’s land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Garret Mountain Reservation (2.6 mi), Pennington Park (0.8 mi). 327 acres are parks and preserves, 2.1 per 1,000 residents. 4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Paterson, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #385 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
289 acres · of 8.4 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
327 ac
2.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.3 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Paterson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paterson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paterson is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #385 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Paterson’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (327 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home97% 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 61%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 18%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Paterson ranks #319 on Outdoors.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Paterson’s 5% is ahead of 27% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% of them.
Park acres per resident are where Paterson trails most U.S. towns: 2.1 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 161,793 people share 327 acres.
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 Garret Mountain Reservation, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 15 parks & preserves
Garret Mountain Reservation109 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
DirectionsPennington Park18 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsUpper Raceway Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMary Ellen Kramer Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsEastside Park63 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park at Hayden Heights4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsOverlook Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Side Park28 acres
DirectionsRoberto Clemente Park12 acres
DirectionsRiver Street Park4 acres
DirectionsWrigley Park2 acres
21st Street Playground1 acres
DirectionsBarbour Park1 acres
DirectionsLou Costello Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsVreeland and 19th Triangle1 acres
Who protects it
289 conserved acres
5% of Paterson’s land. Who manages Paterson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city162 ac
County119 ac
National Park Service4 ac
Other state land1 ac
Not recorded119 ac
Local Park · 270 acLocal Conservation Area · 119 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garret Mountain Reservation Local Park | County | 239 | Open |
| Eastside Park Local Park | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Westside Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Pennington Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 12 | Restricted |
| Roberto Clemente Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Grace Buckley Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| McLean Boulevard Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Overlook Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Brandes Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Paterson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Paterson
Lou Costello Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Paterson
13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Paterson
John DeCando Riverview Dog Park
DirectionsWaterfalls in Paterson
Great Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Paterson
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Paterson
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Yellow Trail0.9 mi
White Trail0.6 mi
Morris Canal Greenway0.3 mi
5k Course Finish0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
3.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
17Basketball
13Baseball
8Tennis
3Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →19 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks
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.
★
Great Falls of Paterson/S.U.M. Historic DistrictNational Historic Landmark · District · listed 1970
About itWestside ParkBuilding · listed 1973
About itBelle VistaBuilding · listed 1976
About itCathedral of St. John the BaptistBuilding · listed 1977
About itPublic School Number TwoBuilding · listed 1978
About itSt. Michael's Roman Catholic ChurchBuilding · listed 1978
About itJohn W. Ferguson HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itThompson, Daniel, and Ryle, John, HousesBuilding · listed 1981
About itFrederick William Cooke ResidenceBuilding · listed 1982
About itDanforth Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1984
About itGreat Falls of the Passaic and Society for Useful Manufactures Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986
About it7 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Paterson: 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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Paterson →
Next door
Paterson and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Woodland Park11 miFair Lawn6.9 miClifton6.9 miPaterson4.6 miHawthorne3.7 miElmwood Park0.3 miTotowa0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paterson | 5% | 0.5 | 2 | 97% | B |
| Fair Lawn | 7% | 1.3 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Elmwood Park | 4% | 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | B− |
| Hawthorne | 5% | 1.1 | 7 | 94% | B+ |
| Woodland Park | 11% | 3.6 | 23 | 99% | A+ |
| Clifton | 3% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
| Totowa | 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 99%+ | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Paterson
Where can I hike in Paterson?
The longest trail networks: Garret Mountain Reservation, 2.6 miles; Pennington Park, 0.8 miles; Upper Raceway Park, 0.3 miles; Mary Ellen Kramer Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Paterson is conserved land?
5% 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 Paterson’s trails?
Garret Mountain Reservation and Pennington Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Paterson?
3.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes, 0.1 of off-road paths and 3.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Paterson?
32,707 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paterson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 327 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Paterson have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #385 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 Paterson 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 →