Belleplain State Forest
Nature preserve
1,905 acres5.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Upper Township
More than half of Upper Township’s land is conserved: 56%
56% of Upper Township’s land is conserved, about 22,260 acres. 11,567 acres are parks and preserves, 924 per 1,000 residents. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #112 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
56%
22,260 acres · of 62.0 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
11,567 ac
924 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
2 beaches · 6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Upper Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Upper Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Upper Township is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #112 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 Upper Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land56% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land924 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11,567 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 95%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 76%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Upper Township’s 56% is ahead of 98% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 28% of them.
Water is 10% of Upper Township’s area (7 of 69 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 51%.
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 Belleplain State Forest, with 5.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Forestry
4,394 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Peaslee Wildlife Management Area
Managed by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
1,316 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
4,021 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Belleplain State Forest1,905 acres · 5.6 mi of trail
Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area4,394 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Forestry
Peaslee Wildlife Management Area1,316 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area4,021 acres
DirectionsCape May National Wildlife Refuge4,012 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Corson's Inlet State Park72 acres · New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry
Strathmere Natural Area50 acres
Beaver Swamp Wildlife Management Area2 acres · New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife
Who protects it
22,260 conserved acres
56% of Upper Township’s land. Water is left out: Upper Township has 62.0 square miles of land and 6.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Upper Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife10,153 ac
State natural resources6,799 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service3,974 ac
Town or city959 ac
County453 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits97 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government74 ac
State Conservation Area · 10,496 acState Resource Management Area · 9,367 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 3,974 acLocal Park · 556 acAgricultural Easement · 543 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 291 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 152 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belleplain State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 9,367 | Open |
| Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,810 | Open |
| Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,305 | Open |
| Cape May National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 3,974 | Restricted |
| Peaslee Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,318 | Open |
| Upper Township 1 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 298 | Open |
| unknown Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 270 | Open |
| Redwish Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 196 | Open |
| Upper Township Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 185 | Open |
| Municipal Open Space Local Park | Not recorded | 128 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
23 places to go in Upper Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Upper Township
Beesley's Point Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Upper Township
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Upper Township
Beesleys's Point
DirectionsMosquito Landing Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Upper Township
Caldwell Picnic Site
DirectionsCape May Parkway Picnic Area
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Upper Township
Frontier CampgroundHours: Mon–Sun 9 am – 6 pm
DirectionsWhippoorwill Campground
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 6.4 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Tarkiln Bogs Trail1.4 mi
Johns Run Trail1.0 mi
Walking Path0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & 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
Old Cape TrailBike route
4.1 miNarrows Road TrailBike route
1.4 miJohn's Run TrailBike route
1 miTarkiln Bogs TrailBike route
0.9 miCinder TrailBike route
0.8 miCourts & fields
9Tennis
7Baseball
4Basketball
1Football
1Skate park
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).
Tuckahoe StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itThomas Beesley Sr. HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itSouth Tuckahoe Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1997
About itJohn Wesley Gandy HouseBuilding · listed 1999
About itReeves-Iszard-Godfey HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About itJohn Corson Jr. House SiteBuilding · listed 2015
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Upper Township: 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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 45 | 52 | 63 | 71 | 80 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Upper Township →
Next door
Upper Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Estell Manor61 miDennis Township50 miUpper Township20 miBelleplain19 miOcean City2.9 miCorbin City2.1 miStrathmere0.6 miOcean View0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Township | 56% | 0.3 | 924 | 95% | A |
| Estell Manor | 66% | 1.1 | 14,288 | 92% | A+ |
| Corbin City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dennis Township | 62% | 0.8 | 1,477 | 59% | A |
| Ocean City | 15% | 0.4 | 164 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Belleplain | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Strathmere | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ocean View | — 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 Upper Township
Where can I hike in Upper Township?
The longest trail networks: Belleplain State Forest, 5.6 miles; Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, 1.3 miles; Peaslee Wildlife Management Area, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Upper Township is conserved land?
56% 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 Upper Township’s trails?
Belleplain State Forest and Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Upper Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths. Named routes: Old Cape Trail, Narrows Road Trail and John's Run Trail.
Is there public land near Upper Township?
133,216 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Upper Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18,350 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Upper Township have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #112 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 Upper 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 →