Wildwood Recreation Center
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Wildwood
13% of Wildwood’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. 13% of Wildwood’s land is conserved, about 134 acres. 139 acres are parks and preserves, 27 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #214 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
134 acres · of 1.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
139 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Wildwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wildwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wildwood is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #214 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wildwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (139 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 88%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 54%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Wildwood’s 13% is ahead of 55% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
Water is 7% of Wildwood’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fountain Park
Managed by City of Wildwood
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
134 conserved acres
13% of Wildwood’s land. Water is left out: Wildwood has 1.5 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wildwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city133 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 65 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 acLocal Park · 31 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood City Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Soccer Complex Development Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Wildwood City Beach or Boardwalk Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Maxwell Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Fox Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Columbus Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Wildwood City Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Wildwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Wildwood
Five Mile Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Wildwood
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Wildwood
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Wildwood
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
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
5Tennis
3Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wildwood: April to July
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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 45 | 52 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 67 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Wildwood →
Next door
Wildwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | 13% | 0.3 | 27 | 99%+ | A |
| Lower Township | 38% | 0.7 | 258 | 97% | A+ |
| Middle Township | 54% | 0.4 | 775 | 81% | A |
| Wildwood Crest | 18% | 1.2 | 50 | 99%+ | A+ |
| North Wildwood | 15% | 1.0 | 30 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wildwood
Where can I hike in Wildwood?
The longest trail networks: Byrne Plaza, 0.2 miles; Fountain Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wildwood is conserved land?
13% 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 Wildwood’s trails?
Wildwood Recreation Center and Fox Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wildwood?
21,300 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wildwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 139 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wildwood have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #214 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 Wildwood 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 →