Robert Manship Park
Managed by Town of Canterbury
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Cathy Cline · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Canterbury
5% of Canterbury’s land is conserved: 1,355 acres
18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 65 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Canterbury, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #152 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,355 acres · of 39.9 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
65 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
614 ft
Westminster Hill
Lakes & rivers
23
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Canterbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Canterbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Canterbury is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #152 of 155 in Connecticut. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Canterbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (65 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home18% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 2%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Canterbury’s 5% is ahead of 4% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 3% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Robert Manship Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Quinebaug Wildlife Area
Managed by State of Connecticut
353 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Quinebaug Fish Hatchery
Managed by State of Connecticut
134 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Racy Forest and Property
Managed by Wolf Den Land Trust
129 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Robert Manship Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Town of Canterbury
DirectionsArthur and Dorothy Kinne Preserve28 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Canterbury
DirectionsQuinebaug Wildlife Area353 acres · State of Connecticut
DirectionsQuinebaug Fish Hatchery134 acres · State of Connecticut
DirectionsRacy Forest and Property129 acres · Wolf Den Land Trust
Rock Spring Wildlife Refuge63 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Campagna Preserve59 acres · Wyndham Land Trust
Quinebaug River Boat Launch24 acres · State of Connecticut
Little River Water Access21 acres · State of Connecticut
Mohegan State Forest18 acres · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Irma and Charles Levonius Preserve11 acres · Wyndham Land Trust
James V. Spignesi Jr. Wildlife Management Area4 acres · State of Connecticut
Frink Park4 acres · Town of Canterbury
DirectionsCampbell Ball Field4 acres · Town of Canterbury
Hanover Road Open Space3 acres · Town of Canterbury
Town Open Space (Route 169)1 acres
Canterbury Green1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,355 conserved acres
5% of Canterbury’s land. Who manages Canterbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners595 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)139 ac
Other state land83 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits63 ac
Not recorded673 ac
Conservation Easement · 394 acState Conservation Area · 337 acPrivate Agricultural · 201 acAgricultural Easement · 139 acState Other or Unknown · 128 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 417 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 51 of 56 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Private Agricultural | Private owners | 345 | Unknown |
| Quinebaug Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 334 | Unknown |
| Quinebaug Fish Hatchery State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 128 | Unknown |
| Ayers Gap Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 63 | Closed |
| Bicentennial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 28 | Unknown |
| Little River Water Access State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Mohegan State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Pudding Hill Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Canterbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Canterbury
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Canterbury
Canoe/Kayak launch areaIn Quinebaug Wildlife Area
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Canterbury
Westminster Hill614 ft elevation
DirectionsWoodchuck Hill535 ft elevation
DirectionsMorgan Hill512 ft elevation
DirectionsBuck Hill472 ft elevation
DirectionsNorth Hill472 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
23 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bates PondBennets PondBennett Brook PondlakeBennett PondpondBuck Hill Road PondlakeBurr Smith PondpondCranberry LakepondDarby BrookpondFort Ned PondFrank Bennett PondKnollwood PondLisbon PondreservoirMiller PondMudhole Brook PondPotter PondUlasik PondVeit PondWright PondBlackwell BrookCory BrookLittle RiverMill BrookQuinebaug River
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
3Beach volleyball
2Baseball
1Soccer
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
Capt. John Clark HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itJonathan Wheeler HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itCanterbury Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998
About itMarch Route of Rochambeau's Army: Manship Road-Barstow RoadDistrict · listed 2003
About itQuinebaug River Prehistoric Archeological DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About itButts BridgeStructure · listed 2010
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Canterbury: May 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Canterbury →
Next door
Canterbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canterbury | 5% | 0.3 | 13 | 18% | C+ |
| Plainfield | 14% | 0.5 | 7 | 50% | B |
| Scotland | 33% | 0.7 | 12 | 12% | B |
| Wauregan | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hampton | 29% | 1.6 | 97 | 51% | A |
| Brooklyn | 9% | 0.2 | 14 | 39% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Canterbury
Where can I hike in Canterbury?
The longest trail networks: Robert Manship Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Canterbury is conserved land?
5% 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 Canterbury’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Robert Manship Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Canterbury?
8,441 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Canterbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 65 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Canterbury have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #152 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 Canterbury 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 →