Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.05% of Rockaway’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
5% of Rockaway’s land is conserved, about 72 acres. 41 acres are parks and preserves, 6.2 per 1,000 residents. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Rockaway, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #393 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Rockaway?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Rockaway have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rockaway is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #393 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 Rockaway’s 5% is ahead of 27% 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.
72 conserved acres
5% of Rockaway’s land. Who manages Rockaway’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donatoni Property Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Unknown |
| Park Lakes Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Acquire Block 21, Lots 6 and 25 Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Friendship Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Rockaway Borough Forest Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Lincoln Avenue Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Jackson Avenue River Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
6 places to go in Rockaway
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 lakes & rivers
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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Rockaway: 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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rockaway →
Rockaway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockaway | 5% | 0.2 | 6 | 98% | B |
| Rockaway Township | 25% | 2.6 | 369 | 93% | A+ |
| Denville Township | 21% | 1.9 | 86 | 97% | A+ |
| White Meadow Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rockaway
How much of Rockaway 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.
Is there public land near Rockaway?
58,031 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rockaway or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rockaway have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #393 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 Rockaway 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 →