Essex County Environmental Center
Nature preserve
26 acres1.3 mi of trail
Lenape TrailRiver TrailLenape/Bird Lane TrailPatriots' Path+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lalmeister · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Roseland
20% of Roseland’s land is conserved: 468 acres
5.5 miles of mapped trail cross Roseland, 1.5 per square mile of land. 472 acres are parks and preserves, 75 per 1,000 residents. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #68 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
468 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
5.5 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
472 ac
75 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Roseland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Roseland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Roseland is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #68 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Roseland’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land75 acres of park per 1,000 residents (472 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home94% 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 97%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 86%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Roseland’s 20% is ahead of 70% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Essex County Environmental Center, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Becker Park
Nature preserve
151 acres1 mi of trail
Lenape TrailBecker Farm Blue Bird Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park
Nature preserve
16 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bond-Force Memorial Park
Park
12 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Essex County Environmental Center26 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBecker Park151 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsWalter Kidde Dinosaur Park16 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Bond-Force Memorial Park12 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Essex Park272 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHarrison Complex9 acres
DirectionsRiker Hill Art Park1 acres
DirectionsTedesco Park1 acres
Who protects it
468 conserved acres
20% of Roseland’s land. Who manages Roseland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County431 ac
Town or city46 ac
Not recorded419 ac
Local Conservation Area · 417 acLocal Other or Unknown · 243 acLocal Park · 216 acLocal Recreation Area · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Essex Park Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 556 | Open |
| Roseland Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 138 | Open |
| Becker Park Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 85 | Open |
| Riker Hill Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 53 | Open |
| Bond Force Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Walter Kidde Dinosaus Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 15 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Rec Field Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Rec Area Local Park | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Roseland Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Roseland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Roseland
Patricia Borino Memorial PlaygroundIn Harrison Complex
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Roseland
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Lenape Trail1.2 mi
Lenape Trail (Yellow)0.6 mi
River Trail0.3 mi
Lenape/Bird Lane Trail0.2 mi
Becker Farm Blue Bird Trail0.2 mi
Patriots' Path0.1 mi
Boardwalk Trail0.1 mi
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
8Tennis
7Soccer
5Baseball
3Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Williams-Harrison HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Roseland: 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 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Roseland →
Next door
Roseland and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Caldwell Township8.9 miEast Hanover Township6.8 miRoseland5.5 miLivingston Township4.9 miEssex Fells2.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roseland | 20% | 1.5 | 75 | 94% | A+ |
| Livingston Township | 23% | 0.4 | 63 | 99%+ | A |
| Essex Fells | 14% | 1.4 | 58 | 99%+ | A+ |
| East Hanover Township | 20% | 0.9 | 92 | 88% | A |
| West Caldwell Township | 19% | 1.7 | 57 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Roseland
Where can I hike in Roseland?
The longest trail networks: Essex County Environmental Center, 1.3 miles; Becker Park, 1 miles; Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park, 0.6 miles; Bond-Force Memorial Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Roseland is conserved land?
20% 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 Roseland’s trails?
Essex County Environmental Center and Becker Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Roseland?
38,077 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Roseland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 472 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Roseland have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #68 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 Roseland 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 →