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Summit PlayhouseSummit Playhouse · Photo: Jim.henderson · Public domain
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Summit

Summit has 7.3 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land

12% of Summit’s land is conserved, about 455 acres. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Watchung Reservation (3.1 mi).

Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #182 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Conserved land
12%
455 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
7.3 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
546 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3

What kind of outdoors town is Summit?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical New Jersey town, 11%.Parks close to home94% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Summit have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Summit is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #182 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Summit’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (546 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B+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 91%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 61%

New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Summit’s 12% is ahead of 51% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

1234
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 Watchung Reservation, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Watchung Reservation

Park
219 acres3.1 mi of trail
Sierra TrailPurple TrailPurple / White Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Tatlock Sports Complex

Park
18 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Hidden Valley Park

Nature preserve
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Briant Park

Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Watchung Reservation219 acres · 3.1 mi of trail
Directions
Tatlock Sports Complex18 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Hidden Valley Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Village Green Recreational Area3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Briant Park11 acres
Directions
Village Green Memorial Day Statue2 acres
Directions
Village Green Public Art2 acres
Directions
Who protects it

455 conserved acres

12% of Summit’s land. Who manages Summit’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County366 ac
Town or city95 ac
Not recorded126 ac
Local Conservation Area · 345 acLocal Other or Unknown · 97 acLocal Park · 82 acLocal Recreation Area · 62 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Watchung Reservation
Local Conservation Area
County280Open
Passaic River Park
Local Conservation Area
Not recorded189Open
Investors Bank Field
Local Park
Town or city27Open
Hidden Valley Park
Local Park
County22Open
Memorial Field
Local Park
Town or city21Open
Summit Municipal Golf Course
Local Recreation Area
Town or city12Open
Community Swimming Pool
Local Recreation Area
Town or city11Open
Wilson Park
Local Park
Town or city10Open
Martin's Brook Park
Local Conservation Area
Town or city7Open
Summit Recreaction Center
Local Recreation Area
Town or city6Open

1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

16 places to go in Summit

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Summit
Mabie PlaygroundHours: Open 24 hours · In Village Green Recreational Area
Directions

Plus 13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

4 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Horses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 1.8 mi
Sierra Trail0.6 mi
Purple Trail0.6 mi
Martin's Brook Park Trail0.2 mi
Purple / White Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Briant PondpondBlue BrookPassaic River
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
38Tennis
14Baseball
8Soccer
5Basketball
2Pickleball
1Softball
1Football
1Multi-sport

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

5 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
The ClearingSite · listed 1993
About it
Twin MaplesBuilding · listed 1997
About it
Wallace Chapel AME Zion ChurchBuilding · listed 2007
About it
Summit PlayhouseBuilding · listed 2009
About it
Summit Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Summit: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.114.813.812.411.09.89.3
High (°F)394250637281868477655444
Rain (in)3.52.94.14.04.14.64.74.54.44.43.64.4

February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Summit →

Next door

Summit and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Millburn Township34 miMountainside16 miChatham Township13 miSummit7.3 miSpringfield Township6.8 miShort Hills4.9 miNew Providence3.0 miChatham1.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Summit12%1.22494%A
Chatham16%0.72599%+A
Mountainside38%3.914199%+A+
Millburn Township29%3.67891%A+
Short Hills— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
New Providence12%0.81999%+A
Springfield Township16%1.33098%A+
Chatham Township— 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 Summit

Where can I hike in Summit?

The longest trail networks: Watchung Reservation, 3.1 miles; Tatlock Sports Complex, 0.4 miles; Hidden Valley Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Summit is conserved land?

12% 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 Summit’s trails?

Watchung Reservation and Tatlock Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Summit?

35,036 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Summit or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 546 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Summit have?

Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #182 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 Summit neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →