Swartswood State Park
Nature preserve
536 acres6.1 mi of trail
WIllow Crest TrailWillow Crest TrailBear Claw TrailLimestone Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Casper and Abraham Shafer Grist Mill Complex · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Stillwater Township
Stillwater Township has 5,508 acres of parks, 1,359 for every 1,000 residents
43% of Stillwater Township’s land is conserved, about 7,416 acres. 92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Swartswood State Park (6.1 mi), Blair Creek Preserve (2.6 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #76 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
43%
7,416 acres · of 26.9 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,508 ac
1,359 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
2 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Stillwater Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Stillwater Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stillwater Township is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #76 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Stillwater Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1,359 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,508 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home92% 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 84%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Stillwater Township’s 43% is ahead of 94% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% 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 Swartswood State Park, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Blair Creek Preserve
Nature preserve
372 acres2.6 mi of trail
Blair Creek White TrailOrange TrailUnofficial Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Arctic Meadows Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
29 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
7,416 conserved acres
43% of Stillwater Township’s land. Who manages Stillwater Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,895 ac
State fish & wildlife3,054 ac
State parks2,162 ac
State natural resources2,110 ac
Other state land900 ac
State conservation527 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government461 ac
State Park · 4,252 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 2,013 acState Resource Management Area · 1,956 acState Conservation Area · 1,740 acPrivate Conservation · 1,545 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 948 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 102 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swartswood State Park State Park | State natural resources | 4,252 | Open |
| Trout Brook Wildlife Management Area State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,054 | Open |
| Blair Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,435 | Open |
| Fairview Lake YMCA Camps Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,210 | Closed |
| Camp Lou Henry Hoover Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 663 | Restricted |
| Kittatinny/Swartswood Matrix Block Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 417 | Closed |
| Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 210 | Open |
| Camp Towadema Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 193 | Open |
| Arctic Meadows Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 134 | Open |
| The Nature Conservancy Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 116 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Stillwater Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Stillwater Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Stillwater Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Stillwater Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Stillwater Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Stillwater Township
1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Stillwater Township
Lower Wakegan Unit
DirectionsSwartswood Day Use AreaIn Swartswood State Park
DirectionsUpper Wakegan Unit
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.7 miHorses · 5.1 miUnpaved · 7.8 mi
Paulinskill Valley Trail2.8 mi
WIllow Crest Trail1.7 mi
Blair Creek White Trail1.4 mi
Orange Trail1.0 mi
Grist Mill Trail1.0 mi
Willow Crest Trail0.9 mi
Emmons Path Trail0.6 mi
Bear Claw Trail0.6 mi
Limestone Trail0.5 mi
Unofficial Trail0.4 mi
3 more trails
Spring Lake Trail
0.4 miYellow Trail
0.3 miSinkhole Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route)Bike route
2.8 miPaulinskill Valley TrailBike route
2.8 miCourts & fields
5Tennis
5Basketball
4Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Volleyball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Stillwater Township: April and May
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) | 36 | 39 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Stillwater Township →
Next door
Stillwater Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hardwick Township97 miWalpack Township63 miFrelinghuysen Township18 miHampton Township17 miStillwater Township16 miFredon Township6.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stillwater Township | 43% | 0.6 | 1,359 | 92% | A+ |
| Hampton Township | 40% | 0.7 | 860 | 93% | A+ |
| Fredon Township | 30% | 0.3 | 580 | 71% | A |
| Walpack Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hardwick Township | 70% | 2.6 | 6,648 | 88% | A+ |
| Frelinghuysen Township | 35% | 0.8 | 646 | 66% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Stillwater Township
Where can I hike in Stillwater Township?
The longest trail networks: Swartswood State Park, 6.1 miles; Blair Creek Preserve, 2.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Stillwater Township is conserved land?
43% 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 Stillwater Township’s trails?
Swartswood State Park and Blair Creek Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Stillwater Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths. Named routes: 9/11 National Memorial Trail (New Jersey thru route) and Paulinskill Valley Trail.
Is there public land near Stillwater Township?
126,514 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stillwater Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,516 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Stillwater Township have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #76 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 Stillwater Township 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 →