Veterans' Memorial Park
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jared Kofsky/placenj.com · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Westwood
10% of Westwood’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Westwood, 1.1 per square mile of land. 10% of Westwood’s land is conserved, about 138 acres.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #201 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
138 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
140 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Westwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Westwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Westwood is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #201 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Westwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (140 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 57%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Westwood’s 10% is ahead of 46% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% 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 Veterans' Memorial Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gritman Park
Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Brookside Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Jake Voorhis Park
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Veterans' Memorial Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsGritman Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Jake Voorhis Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Hegeman Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Brookside Park4 acres
Who protects it
138 conserved acres
10% of Westwood’s land. Who manages Westwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city74 ac
County63 ac
Not recorded7 ac
Local Park · 93 acLocal Other or Unknown · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 23 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pascack Brook County Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 61 | Open |
| Westvale Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Westwood Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Hegeman Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Brookside Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Meadowbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Gritman Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Jake Voorhis Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Isaac D Bogert Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| McKinley Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Westwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Westwood
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Westwood
Westvale Dog Park
DirectionsTrails & water
4 lakes & rivers
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
11Baseball
6Tennis
5Basketball
3Soccer
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Westwood Railroad StationBuilding · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Westwood: 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.
| 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) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Westwood →
Next door
Westwood and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westwood | 10% | 1.1 | 12 | 99%+ | A |
| River Vale Township | 8% | 1.9 | 24 | 86% | A |
| Washington Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 97% | C |
| Hillsdale | 7% | 0.6 | 13 | 99%+ | A− |
| Emerson | 2% | 1.9 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Westwood
Where can I hike in Westwood?
The longest trail networks: Veterans' Memorial Park, 0.4 miles; Gritman Park, 0.2 miles; Jake Voorhis Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Westwood is conserved land?
10% 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 Westwood’s trails?
Veterans' Memorial Park and Gritman Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Westwood?
23,421 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Westwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 140 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Westwood have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #201 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 Westwood 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 →