I don't know what you consider 'local' but here goes:

Lincoln Park has an official 400m rubberturf track.

Pershing Field is 1/3 mile, hardpacked cinder, uneven with puddles.

Ferris HS on Montgomery/Brunswick has a squared off rubberturf, older surface that holds some puddles, and is 4 1/2 laps to a mile.

Obviously there are greenways parks etc but there is no substitute for knowing your true speed when doing pace/intervals.

I have been running down in Bayonne park for years. Not on the track but on the ?cross country? course around the park. Follow some old-timers they will lead you.

That track used to be a hard cinder track back in the day.

Given you are in the HP area, you could run a loop around Enos Jones Park on mostly grass. The nearby Boxing Center on Division St also has plenty of walking/running machines and membership costs $40-55/month.

Thanks for the tips. I'm usually running pre-daylight hours except in the summer, but I'll check out a couple of these options.

There's a great track in Lincoln Park (along 1/9). There is one in Bayonne too, if that's closer, in Bayonne Park - Kennedy Blvd. near 40th street - once you are in the park it's down the hill, near Newark Bay. There is also a track in Weehawken Waterfront Park - along River Rd., just north of where Harbor Blvd. ends. Lincoln Park and Weehawken have easier parking options and Weehawken has great views. Unfortunately, there aren't many trail options nearby.

Lincoln Park has a running track which attracts a handful of people during daylight hours.

The actual park has man made trails in the grass right next to the roadway on most of the loop. The loop of the main park is probably 1 1/2 miles (give or take).

Liberty State park is much bigger and you can run on the grass there as well, small loops are about 4 miles and you can make bigger loops up to about 6 - 7 miles or more.

Pershing Field track is all dirt and longer than a standard track (approx 1/3 mile)

Hope that helps.

Doctor says I need to avoid running on pavement if possible. Anyone know of any local tracks with a softer surface that are open to the public - or any other places where you can run for a good distance on anything softer than asphalt?