Collis P. Huntington State Park
Nature preserve
417 acres9.4 mi of trail
BlueGreen
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rev. John Ely House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bethel
Bethel has 27 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
14% of Bethel’s land is conserved, about 1,478 acres. The biggest trail networks: Collis P. Huntington State Park (9.4 mi), Stephenson Preserve (1.8 mi), Overlook Park (1 mi). 218 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #93 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
1,478 acres · of 17.0 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
218 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.6 mi
1.0 mi lanes
Highest peak
833 ft
Bogus Mountain
Lakes & rivers
16
What kind of outdoors town is Bethel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethel is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #93 of 155 in Connecticut. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bethel’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (218 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home62% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 40%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Bethel’s 14% is ahead of 44% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 62% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Collis P. Huntington State Park, with 9.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stephenson Preserve
Managed by Redding Land Trust
129 acres1.8 mi of trail
Stephenson TrailPond Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
The Nature Conservancy Wolfpits Nature Preserve (Owned)
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
59 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Collis P. Huntington State Park417 acres · 9.4 mi of trail
DirectionsStephenson Preserve129 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Redding Land Trust
DirectionsOverlook Park20 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsPutnam Memorial State Park21 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMeckauer Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Bethel
DirectionsJoan Plishner Wildlife Preserve4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Redding Land Trust
The Nature Conservancy Wolfpits Nature Preserve (Owned)59 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Parloa Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,478 conserved acres
14% of Bethel’s land. Who manages Bethel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land134 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits71 ac
Town or city32 ac
State conservation16 ac
Not recorded1,242 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 693 acPrivate Conservation · 247 acUnknown Easement · 135 acWatershed Protection Area · 112 acLocal Park · 77 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 135 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 87 of 94 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 932 | Unknown |
| Water Department Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 112 | Unknown |
| Franc Preserve Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 71 | Open |
| East Swamp Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 67 | Unknown |
| Meckauer Park Local Park | Not recorded | 38 | Unknown |
| Sympaug Pond Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Devil's Den-schrijver Unknown | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Putnam Park State Park | Not recorded | 16 | Unknown |
| Prospect Hill State Park | Other state land | 15 | Open |
| Overlook Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Bethel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bethel
Parloa Park PlaygroundIn Parloa Park
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Bethel
Bogus Mountain833 ft elevation
DirectionsCodfish Hill699 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bethel
Bennett Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 16 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.7 miHorses · 2.5 miUnpaved · 22.2 mi
Stephenson Trail1.7 mi
Blue1.6 mi
Enchanted Trail0.2 mi
Dog Walking Path0.1 mi
Pond Loop0.1 mi
Huntington Ridge Trail0.1 mi
Green0.1 mi
Biking & sports
8.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
12Basketball
11Baseball
6Soccer
2Tracks
2Lacrosse
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bethel: 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 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bethel →
Next door
Bethel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel | 14% | 1.6 | 10 | 62% | A− |
| Danbury | 15% | 1.1 | 15 | 69% | A− |
| Redding | 30% | 2.3 | 154 | 66% | A+ |
| Brookfield | 12% | 1.0 | 18 | 57% | A− |
| Newtown | 17% | 1.1 | 13 | 19% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethel
Where can I hike in Bethel?
The longest trail networks: Collis P. Huntington State Park, 9.4 miles; Stephenson Preserve, 1.8 miles; Overlook Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethel is conserved land?
14% of its land, against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bethel’s trails?
Collis P. Huntington State Park and Stephenson Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bethel?
8.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes and 7.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Bethel?
16,944 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 218 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #93 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Bethel 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 →