Watchung Reservation
About
Watchung Reservation is a park in New Jersey managed by Union County, about half a mile from the town of Mountainside. It serves as a base for a network of short trails that start close together, so it works well as a base for a day of walking on several routes. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from the nearby Cranford weather station put May highs around 72°F and September highs around 77°F, while July averages reach about 86°F. The Red Trail is the closest, about 0.1 mile away, and the Purple, Orange and Yellow trails are all within about half a mile. For a change of pace, South Mountain Reservation offers climbing about 6 miles away, and Great Brook offers canoeing about 7 miles away.
Park size
1,904 acres
Inside this park
Facts about this place
When to go
Best time to go: Apr–Jun. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 63–81°F and lows of 43–62°F.
Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Cranford, NJ weather station, 2.8 mi away. High / low in °F, and days with snow.
- Jan40° high25° low3 days with snow
- Feb43° high27° low3 days with snow
- Mar51° high33° low2 days with snow
- Apr63° high43° low
- May72° high52° low
- Jun81° high62° low
- Jul86° high68° low
- Aug84° high66° low
- Sep77° high59° low
- Oct65° high47° low
- Nov55° high37° low
- Dec45° high30° low2 days with snow
Where it is
- Watchung Reservation · Public land
- Nearest town
- Mountainside, New Jersey · 0.6 mi
Source: NIFC Jurisdictional Units; USGS GNIS populated places
Nearby
Red TrailHikingPhoto: P_Linehan, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.1 mi- Purple TrailHiking0.4 mi
Orange TrailHikingPhoto: P_Linehan, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.5 mi
Yellow TrailHikingPhoto: P_Linehan, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.6 mi- Blue TrailHikingPhoto: P_Linehan, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.7 mi
- Sierra TrailHikingPhoto: P_Linehan, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)0.9 mi
- South Mountain ReservationRock climbing5.9 mi
- Great BrookCanoeing7.4 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Best time to visit Watchung Reservation
Best months: April–June and August–November. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
40° / 25°
10 wet · 3 snow
Feb
43° / 27°
9 wet · 3 snow
Mar
51° / 33°
10 wet · 2 snow
Apr
63° / 43°
11 wet
May
72° / 52°
12 wet
Jun
81° / 62°
11 wet
Jul
86° / 68°
10 wet
Aug
84° / 66°
10 wet
Sep
77° / 59°
9 wet
Oct
65° / 47°
9 wet
Nov
55° / 37°
9 wet
Dec
45° / 30°
10 wet · 2 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Cranford, NJ, 2.8 mi away at 80 ft. We don't have this place's elevation, so higher spots nearby can run cooler. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
