Hugh Force Canal Park
Park
8 acres0.6 mi of trail
West Morris Greenway
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wharton
18% of Wharton’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. 4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Wharton, 2.2 per square mile of land. 18% of Wharton’s land is conserved, about 238 acres.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #39 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
238 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
228 ac
31 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Wharton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wharton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wharton is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #39 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 Wharton’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land31 acres of park per 1,000 residents (228 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 98%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 92%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Wharton’s 18% is ahead of 65% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% 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 Hugh Force Canal Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waterworks Park
Park
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
East Sterling Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
238 conserved acres
18% of Wharton’s land. Who manages Wharton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city233 ac
County11 ac
Not recorded1 ac
Local Conservation Area · 134 acLocal Other or Unknown · 61 acLocal Park · 37 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irondale Mountain Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 137 | Open |
| Robert Street Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Morris Duffy School Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Soccer Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Washington Forge Pond Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Hugh Force Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Wilfred Hocking Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Wharton Borough Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Municipal Playground Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| West Morris Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Wharton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wharton
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 2.3 mi
West Morris Greenway1.1 mi
Blue Trail0.5 mi
Green Trail0.4 mi
Yellow Trail0.3 mi
Wharton - West Morris Greenway0.1 mi
Red Trail0.1 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
4Tennis
4Basketball
2Soccer
1Softball
1Baseball
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).
St. Mary’s Church Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Wharton: April to 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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Wharton →
Next door
Wharton and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Rockaway Township108 miRoxbury Township24 miMine Hill Township14 miMount Hope5.1 miWharton4.6 miDover1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wharton | 18% | 2.2 | 31 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Mine Hill Township | 29% | 4.7 | 124 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Rockaway Township | 25% | 2.6 | 369 | 93% | A+ |
| Dover | 13% | 0.6 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Roxbury Township | 17% | 1.1 | 149 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Mount Hope | — 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 Wharton
Where can I hike in Wharton?
The longest trail networks: Hugh Force Canal Park, 0.6 miles; Waterworks Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wharton is conserved land?
18% 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 Wharton’s trails?
Hugh Force Canal Park and Waterworks Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wharton?
59,262 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wharton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 228 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wharton have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 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 Wharton 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 →