Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Riverdale
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 6.7 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Riverdale’s land is conserved, about 25 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #407 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Riverdale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Riverdale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Riverdale is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #407 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Riverdale’s 2% is ahead of 9% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 22% 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.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Freedom Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
25 conserved acres
2% of Riverdale’s land. Who manages Riverdale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom and Independence Parks Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Van Ness House Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Pequannock River West Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Appelt Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Foothills Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Municipal Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
6 places to go in Riverdale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
0.3 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Riverdale: April to 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) | 38 | 41 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Riverdale →
Riverdale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | 2% | 0.2 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
| Bloomingdale | 10% | 2.3 | 20 | 90% | A |
| Pompton Lakes | 6% | 2.1 | 21 | 98% | A |
| Pompton Plains | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pequannock Township | 18% | 1.6 | 49 | 95% | A+ |
| Kinnelon | 33% | 2.3 | 383 | 98% | A+ |
| Butler | 4% | 0.1 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Riverdale
Where can I hike in Riverdale?
The longest trail networks: Freedom Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Riverdale 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 Riverdale’s trails?
Freedom Park and Appelt Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Riverdale?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Riverdale?
56,840 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Riverdale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 28 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Riverdale have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #407 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 Riverdale 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 →