Rutgers Ecological Preserve
Nature preserve
328 acres5.1 mi of trail
Black (Wildlife Loop Trail)GreenOrangeRed+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Piscataway Township
Piscataway Township has 13 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Rutgers Ecological Preserve (5.1 mi), Johnson Park (1.3 mi), Possumtown Park (0.5 mi). 1,222 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #315 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
362 acres · of 18.8 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,222 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
17 mi
6.2 mi lanes · 11 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Piscataway Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Piscataway Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Piscataway Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #315 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Piscataway Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,222 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13BParks close to home93% 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 75%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 33%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Piscataway Township’s 3% is ahead of 15% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
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 Rutgers Ecological Preserve, with 5.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 15 parks & preserves
Rutgers Ecological Preserve328 acres · 5.1 mi of trail
DirectionsJohnson Park181 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPossumtown Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsPerrine Park11 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsCastle Pointe Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Piscataway Ecological Park69 acres · Piscataway Township
DirectionsQuibbletown Park41 acres
DirectionsRiverside Park18 acres
DirectionsColumbus Park13 acres
Wynnwood Park10 acres
DirectionsByrne Park3 acres
DirectionsPond Park1 acres
DirectionsFeral Cat Park1 acres
DirectionsMervin F. Alexander Park1 acres · Township of Piscataway
Redbud Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
362 conserved acres
3% of Piscataway Township’s land. Who manages Piscataway Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city343 ac
County18 ac
Not recorded13 ac
Local Park · 321 acLocal Recreation Area · 39 acLocal Conservation Area · 12 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrose and Dotys Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Day Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Quibbletown Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Kroeger Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| McNeil Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Srurbridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Johnson Park Local Park | County | 18 | Open |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| Piscataway Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
33 places to go in Piscataway Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Piscataway Township
Castle Pointe PoolIn Castle Pointe Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Piscataway Township
Deborah Dr Park
DirectionsPirate PlaygroundIn Johnson Park
DirectionsRaritan Rapids Splash Pad
DirectionsPlus 27 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Piscataway Township
Dog Run
DirectionsBoat launches in Piscataway Township
Riverside Park Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.7 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
Black (Wildlife Loop Trail)1.4 mi
Green0.9 mi
Orange0.6 mi
Red0.6 mi
Yellow0.5 mi
Orange-White0.1 mi
White0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
17 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
11 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
51Tennis
27Baseball
23Soccer
19Basketball
6Softball
5Football
4Pickleball
3Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ivy HallBuilding · listed 1971
About itMetlar HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itEphraim Fitz-Randolph HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itIsaac Onderdonk HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itMatthias Smock HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itRoad Up Raritan Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1997
About itRandolphville BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itGoldman HouseBuilding · listed 2010
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Piscataway Township: April to June and August
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 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Piscataway Township →
Next door
Piscataway Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin Township58 miEdison Township24 miPiscataway Township13 miSomerset8.7 miNew Brunswick8.5 miSouth Plainfield1.2 miDunellen0.9 miMiddlesex0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piscataway Township | 3% | 0.7 | 20 | 93% | B+ |
| New Brunswick | 8% | 1.6 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Franklin Township | 26% | 1.3 | 111 | 96% | A+ |
| South Plainfield | 4% | 0.1 | 15 | 98% | B |
| Edison Township | 5% | 0.8 | 18 | 98% | A− |
| Middlesex | 1% | 0.2 | 13 | 99%+ | B |
| Somerset | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dunellen | 5% | 0.8 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Piscataway Township
Where can I hike in Piscataway Township?
The longest trail networks: Rutgers Ecological Preserve, 5.1 miles; Johnson Park, 1.3 miles; Possumtown Park, 0.5 miles; Perrine Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Piscataway Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Piscataway Township’s trails?
Rutgers Ecological Preserve and Johnson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Piscataway Township?
17 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.2 of painted or protected lanes and 11 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Piscataway Township?
43,590 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Piscataway Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,222 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Piscataway Township have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #315 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 Piscataway 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 →