Rutherford Memorial Park
Park
31 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
William Carlos Williams House · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Rutherford
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Rutherford
The biggest trail networks: Rutherford Memorial Park (0.6 mi). 52 acres are parks and preserves, 2.7 per 1,000 residents. 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Rutherford, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #403 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
48 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
2.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Rutherford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rutherford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rutherford is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #403 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 Rutherford’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 57%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 14%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Rutherford’s 3% is ahead of 13% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Rutherford Memorial Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lincoln Woods
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sunset Memorial Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Rutherford Memorial Park31 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Woods2 acres
Sunset Memorial Park1 acres
Van Winkle Park1 acres
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
3% of Rutherford’s land. Who manages Rutherford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city56 ac
Not recorded1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 34 acLocal Other or Unknown · 14 acLocal Park · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Rutherford Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Tamblyn Field Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Harold Wall Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Lincoln Woods Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Mountainside Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Van Winkle Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Lincoln Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Rutherford Waterfront Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Rutherford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Rutherford
Rutherford Waterfront Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Rutherford
Katie's CornerIn Rutherford Memorial Park
DirectionsKidspotIn Rutherford Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Rutherford
2 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Erie Dirt Path0.4 mi
Rutherford Highline Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
13Baseball
6Tennis
5Soccer
2Football
1Pickleball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 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.
William Carlos Williams HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itKip HomesteadBuilding · listed 1983
About itYereance-Berry HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itRutherford StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itIviswoldBuilding · listed 2004
About itWorld War I MonumentObject · listed 2013
About itWoman's Club of Rutherford ClubhouseBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Rutherford: April to June, August and 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) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Rutherford →
Next door
Rutherford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford | 3% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| Lyndhurst Township | 10% | 1.5 | 34 | 95% | A |
| East Rutherford | 2% | 0.4 | 4 | 94% | B− |
| Passaic | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Clifton | 3% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rutherford
Where can I hike in Rutherford?
The longest trail networks: Rutherford Memorial Park, 0.6 miles; Lincoln Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rutherford 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 Rutherford’s trails?
Rutherford Memorial Park and Lincoln Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rutherford?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Rutherford?
22,811 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rutherford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rutherford have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #403 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 Rutherford 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 →