Photo: LittleGun · CC BY-SA 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Union Beach
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Union Beach, 1.2 per square mile of land. 264 acres are parks and preserves, 46 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #172 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Union Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Union Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Beach is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #172 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Union Beach’s 4% is ahead of 19% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% of them.
Water is 5% of Union Beach’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Scholer Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Fields
Campbell Street Park
All 5 parks & preserves
42 conserved acres
4% of Union Beach’s land. Water is left out: Union Beach has 1.8 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Union Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scholer Park Local Park | Not recorded | 53 | Open |
| Board of Education Ballfields Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Hayes Memorial Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Henry Hudson Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 3 | Open |
| Shore Promenade Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
| Union Beach Borough Beach or Boardwalk Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Waterfront Acq Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
4 places to go in Union Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Union Beach: April to August
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 43 | 51 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 55 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Union Beach →
Union Beach and its neighbors
Union Beach has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Beach | 4% | 1.2 | 46 | 99%+ | A |
| Keansburg | 6% | 1.0 | 3 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Hazlet Township | 12% | 1.3 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
| Keyport | 2% | 0.7 | 6 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Beach
Where can I hike in Union Beach?
The longest trail networks: Scholer Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Union Beach is conserved land?
4% 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 Union Beach’s trails?
Scholer Park and Memorial Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Union Beach?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Union Beach?
27,655 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 264 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Beach have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #172 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 Union Beach neighbors.
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 →