Green Brook Park
Park
51 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Grace Episcopal Church · Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Plainfield
7% of Plainfield’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Green Brook Park (1.3 mi). 7% of Plainfield’s land is conserved, about 267 acres. 282 acres are parks and preserves, 5.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #376 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
267 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
282 ac
5.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Plainfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plainfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plainfield is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #376 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 Plainfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (282 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13CParks 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 64%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 20%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Plainfield’s 7% is ahead of 33% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% 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 Green Brook Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mathewson Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
267 conserved acres
7% of Plainfield’s land. Who manages Plainfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city172 ac
County128 ac
Not recorded44 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 202 acLocal Conservation Area · 92 acLocal Park · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 6 acLocal Resource Management Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Brook Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 107 | Open |
| Cedar Brook Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 94 | Open |
| Milton Cambell Field Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Cushing Road Retention Basin Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Plainfield City Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Peterson Farm Local Other or Unknown | County | 7 | Open |
| Rushmore Playground Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Berkeley Terrace Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Second Street Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Madison Playground Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Plainfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Plainfield
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Plainfield
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
29Tennis
10Basketball
9Baseball
5Tracks
3Soccer
3Football
1Cricket
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →19 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Nathaniel Drake HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itOrville Waring T. HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itCrescent Area Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itHillside Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itNorth Avenue Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itNorth Avenue Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itNetherwood StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itPlainfield StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itSaint Mary's Catholic Church ComplexBuilding · listed 1985
About itVan Wyck Brooks Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itPlainfield Central Fire HeadquartersBuilding · listed 1993
About itFirehouse No. 4Building · listed 1993
About it7 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Plainfield: 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 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
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 Plainfield →
Next door
Plainfield and its neighbors
Plainfield has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Scotch Plains Township15 miPlainfield1.7 miDunellen0.9 miWatchung0.8 miGreen Brook Township0.7 miNorth Plainfield0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | 7% | 0.3 | 5 | 99% | B |
| North Plainfield | 8% | 0.2 | 6 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Watchung | 3% | 0.1 | 19 | 95% | B |
| Scotch Plains Township | 21% | 1.7 | 50 | 98% | A+ |
| Green Brook Township | 5% | 0.2 | 24 | 85% | B |
| 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 Plainfield
Where can I hike in Plainfield?
The longest trail networks: Green Brook Park, 1.3 miles; Cedar Brook Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plainfield is conserved land?
7% 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 Plainfield’s trails?
Green Brook Park and Cedar Brook Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Plainfield?
32,403 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plainfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 282 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Plainfield have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #376 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 Plainfield 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 →