Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve
Managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
167 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ship Bottom
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Ship Bottom
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Ship Bottom, 2.2 per square mile of land. 15 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
14 acres · of 0.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
15 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 0.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ship Bottom?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ship Bottom have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ship Bottom is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ship Bottom’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (15 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Ship Bottom’s 3% is ahead of 16% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% of them.
Water is 28% of Ship Bottom’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
John J. Guld Jr. Recreation Area & Ball Field
Managed by Borough of Ship Bottom
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
4th Street Remembrance Park
Managed by Surf City Borough
1 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
14 conserved acres
3% of Ship Bottom’s land. Water is left out: Ship Bottom has 0.7 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ship Bottom’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city16 ac
Local Recreation Area · 9 acLocal Park · 6 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| John J. Guld Jr. Recreation & Ball Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bayfront Boat Ramp Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Ship Bottom Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Bayfront Bathing Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Beach and Dune Acquisition Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Ship Bottom Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| 3rd Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Ship Bottom
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ship Bottom
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Ship Bottom
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Ship Bottom
Ship Bottom Boat Ramp
DirectionsBiking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
2Pickleball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ship Bottom: April to June
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) | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 50 | 60 | 69 | 79 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ship Bottom →
Next door
Ship Bottom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship Bottom | 3% | 2.2 | 16 | 99%+ | A |
| Stafford Township | 62% | 1.4 | 347 | 92% | A+ |
| Long Beach Township | 38% | 0.6 | 17 | 98% | A |
| Surf City | 1% | 0.8 | 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 Ship Bottom
Where can I hike in Ship Bottom?
The longest trail networks: 4th Street Remembrance Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ship Bottom 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 Ship Bottom’s trails?
Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve and John J. Guld Jr. Recreation Area & Ball Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ship Bottom?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes, 0.1 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ship Bottom?
24,336 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ship Bottom or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 15 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ship Bottom have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Ship Bottom 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 →