Clinton Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,921 acres3.1 mi of trail
Highlands TrailSpruce Run Trailhead
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Spruce Run Parking Lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Union Township
43% of Union Township’s land is conserved: 5,145 acres
4,328 acres are parks and preserves, 673 per 1,000 residents. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Clinton Wildlife Management Area (3.1 mi), Spruce Run Recreation Area (2.6 mi), Union Furnace Preserve (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #101 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
43%
5,145 acres · of 18.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,328 ac
673 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Union Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #101 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land673 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,328 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home95% 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 96%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 79%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Union Township’s 43% is ahead of 94% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
Water is 9% of Union Township’s area (2 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 39%.
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 Clinton WMA, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spruce Run Recreation Area
Nature preserve
412 acres2.6 mi of trail
Highlands Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Union Furnace Preserve
Managed by Hunterdon County
163 acres0.8 mi of trail
Highlands Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hoffman Park
Managed by Hunterdon County
352 acres0.3 mi of trail
Owl's Roost
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
5,145 conserved acres
43% of Union Township’s land. Water is left out: Union Township has 18.8 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,934 ac
State natural resources1,511 ac
County921 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government660 ac
Other state land507 ac
Town or city296 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)96 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,025 acAgricultural Easement · 1,563 acState Recreation Area · 1,511 acLocal Recreation Area · 444 acLocal Conservation Area · 243 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 731 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 80 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,009 | Open |
| Spruce Run Reservoir State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,116 | Open |
| Spruce Run Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 394 | Open |
| Hoffman Park Local Recreation Area | County | 352 | Open |
| Finn Road Park Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 252 | Open |
| Parkland Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 110 | Open |
| Union Forge Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 106 | Open |
| Milligan Farm Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 83 | Open |
| Foxhill and Hollow Brook Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional Water Districts | 60 | Closed |
| Hunterdon County Unknown Local Other or Unknown | County | 46 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Union Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Union Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Union Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Union Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Union Township
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Highlands Trail3.7 mi
Owl's Roost0.2 mi
Spruce Run Trailhead0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
8Soccer
6Baseball
5Tennis
4Basketball
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Mechlins Corner TavernBuilding · listed 1974
About itPerryville TavernBuilding · listed 1977
About itTurner-Chew-Carhart FarmBuilding · listed 1977
About itCase FarmsteadBuilding · listed 1979
About itVan Syckel Corner DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itRockhill Agricultural Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Union Township: April to June and 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Union Township →
Next door
Union Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lebanon Township37 miClinton Township33 miAlexandria Township15 miBethlehem Township9.6 miUnion Township7.7 miFranklin Township5.2 miClinton0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | 43% | 0.4 | 673 | 95% | A+ |
| Alexandria Township | 26% | 0.5 | 237 | 52% | A |
| Clinton Township | 37% | 1.1 | 463 | 78% | A+ |
| Franklin Township | 23% | 0.2 | 160 | 60% | A− |
| Lebanon Township | 31% | 1.2 | 735 | 84% | A+ |
| Clinton | 13% | 0.3 | 89 | 99%+ | A |
| Bethlehem Township | 32% | 0.5 | 699 | 99% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Township
Where can I hike in Union Township?
The longest trail networks: Clinton Wildlife Management Area, 3.1 miles; Spruce Run Recreation Area, 2.6 miles; Union Furnace Preserve, 0.8 miles; Hoffman Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Union 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 Union Township’s trails?
Clinton Wildlife Management Area and Spruce Run Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Union Township?
45,129 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,375 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #101 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 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 →