Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land
Managed by Regional Water Authority
1,097 acres11.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Branford
Branford has 74 miles of mapped trails, 3.4 for every square mile of land
27% of Branford’s land is conserved, about 3,728 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land (11.7 mi), Supply Ponds Preserve (7.5 mi), Saltonstall Mountain Preserve (2.9 mi). 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #59 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
3,728 acres · of 21.8 sq mi of land
Trails
74 mi
3.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
312 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
207 ft
Lidyhites Hill
Lakes & rivers
12
32 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Branford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Branford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Branford is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #59 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 Branford’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (74 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (312 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home67% 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 86%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 62%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Branford’s 27% is ahead of 84% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
Water is 22% of Branford’s area (6 of 28 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 21%.
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 Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land, with 11.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Supply Ponds Preserve
Managed by Branford Land Trust
353 acres7.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Saltonstall Mountain Preserve
Managed by Branford Land Trust
153 acres2.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Queach Preserve
Managed by Branford Land Trust
203 acres2.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Beacon Hill Preserve
Nature preserve
76 acres2.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Short Beach Preserve
Nature preserve
44 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vedder Preserve
Nature preserve
22 acres0.8 mi of trail
Red Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 23 parks & preserves
Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land1,097 acres · 11.7 mi of trail · Regional Water Authority
DirectionsSupply Ponds Preserve353 acres · 7.5 mi of trail · Branford Land Trust
DirectionsSaltonstall Mountain Preserve153 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · Branford Land Trust
DirectionsQueach Preserve203 acres · 2.5 mi of trail · Branford Land Trust
Beacon Hill Preserve76 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
DirectionsYoungs Pond Park59 acres · 2 mi of trail
DirectionsShort Beach Preserve44 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
Vedder Preserve22 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Goss Preserve14 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsFoote Memorial Park30 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Town of Branford
DirectionsHoadley Creek28 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Guilford Land Conservation Trust
Wies Preserve3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsEcology Park24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsParker Memorial Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Branford
DirectionsLions Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEast Haven Marsh Wildlife Area48 acres
Veterans Memorial Park34 acres
DirectionsHammer Field11 acres · Branford Parks and Recreation
DirectionsStewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge5 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Bob's Woods3 acres
DirectionsFoote Riverside Park2 acres
DirectionsPardee Park1 acres
DirectionsBayview Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,728 conserved acres
27% of Branford’s land. Water is left out: Branford has 21.8 square miles of land and 6.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Branford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Joint281 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits210 ac
State conservation167 ac
Other state land92 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)37 ac
Town or city33 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service10 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 2,179 acPrivate Conservation · 908 acConservation Easement · 533 acState Conservation Area · 157 acState Other or Unknown · 131 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 346 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 53 of 77 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3,270 | Unknown |
| Beacon Hill State Conservation Area | State conservation | 70 | Open |
| Branford River Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Pawson Park Marsh Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Parker Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| East Haven Marsh Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 10 | Restricted |
| Town Green Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Hammer Field Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Pine Orchard Marsh Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
66 places to go in Branford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Branford
Front Beach
DirectionsHotchkiss Cove Beach
DirectionsHotchkiss Grove Beach
DirectionsLimewood Beach
DirectionsMontowese Beach
DirectionsPebbley Beach
DirectionsShort Beach
DirectionsSunset Beach
Directions32 beaches are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Swimming spots in Branford
Flat Rock
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Branford
Pagano Park
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Branford
Short Beach Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Branford
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Branford
10 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Branford
Lidyhites Hill207 ft elevation
DirectionsBranford Hill125 ft elevation
DirectionsSunset Hill115 ft elevation
DirectionsBeacon Hill95 ft elevation · In Beacon Hill Preserve
DirectionsBaldwin Hill
DirectionsCherry Hill
DirectionsPicnic areas in Branford
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 23.7 mi
Red Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
44Tennis
19Baseball
8Pickleball
7Basketball
3Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →31 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 11 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Stick Style House at Stony CreekBuilding · listed 1972
About itSwain-Harrison HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itBranford Electric Railway Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itEdward Frisbie HomesteadBuilding · listed 1985
About itBranford Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1987
About itBranford Point Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itBlackstone HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itEdward Frisbie HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itEliphalet Howd HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itHezekiah Palmer HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itHouse at 161 Damascus RoadBuilding · listed 1988
About itHouse at 29 Flat Rock RoadBuilding · listed 1988
About it19 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Branford: 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) | 39 | 41 | 48 | 59 | 69 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Branford →
Next door
Branford and its neighbors
Branford has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branford | 27% | 3.4 | 11 | 67% | A |
| East Haven | 14% | 1.5 | 5 | 88% | A− |
| Guilford | 26% | 3.3 | 152 | 79% | A+ |
| North Branford | 39% | 2.3 | 13 | 42% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Branford
Where can I hike in Branford?
The longest trail networks: Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land, 11.7 miles; Supply Ponds Preserve, 7.5 miles; Saltonstall Mountain Preserve, 2.9 miles; Queach Preserve, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Branford is conserved land?
27% 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 Branford’s trails?
Lake Saltonstall Watershed Reserve Land and Supply Ponds Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Branford?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Branford?
10,427 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Branford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 519 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Branford have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #59 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 Branford 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 →