Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve
Managed by Town of Darien
45 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Darien
Darien has 8.7 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Darien’s land is conserved, about 393 acres. 207 acres are parks and preserves, 9.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #122 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
393 acres · of 12.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.7 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
207 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.8 mi
Highest peak
213 ft
Christie Hill
Lakes & rivers
23
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Darien?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Darien have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Darien is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #122 of 155 in Connecticut. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Darien’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (207 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home89% 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 69%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 21%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Darien’s 5% is ahead of 3% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 15% of them.
Water is 46% of Darien’s area (11 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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 Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Baker Park
Park
15 acres0.3 mi of trail
Baker park trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve45 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Town of Darien
DirectionsBaker Park15 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsTilley Pond Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMcGuane Field6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsDavid Fetter Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Pear Tree Point Beach Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Noroton Presbyterian Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWoodland Park66 acres
Weed Beach Park16 acres
DirectionsStony Brook Park7 acres
DirectionsMather Fields6 acres
DirectionsSleepy Hollow Park2 acres
Who protects it
393 conserved acres
5% of Darien’s land. Water is left out: Darien has 12.7 square miles of land and 10.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Darien’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city181 ac
State conservation7 ac
Not recorded236 ac
Local Park · 181 acPrivate Conservation · 139 acLocal Other or Unknown · 71 acState Other or Unknown · 25 acUnknown Easement · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 36 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 | 235 | Unknown |
| Wookdland Park Local Park | Town or city | 64 | Open |
| Selleck'S Woods Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Cherry Lawn Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Baker Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Tilley Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Weed Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Mcguane Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Town Hall & Holahan Fields Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Pear Tree Point Beach Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Darien
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Darien
Commodore Beach
DirectionsWeed Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Darien
Darien Nature Center Playground
Directionsbaker park playgroundIn Baker Park
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Darien
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Darien
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Peaks in Darien
Christie Hill213 ft elevation
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Darien
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 23 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
Darien HS trail1.1 mi
Baker park trail0.2 mi
Central Trail0.1 mi
Loop Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Baker Park PondpondBirch PondpondBrookside PondpondChalmers PondreservoirClub PondpondCummings PondDunlap LakelakeGorhams PondreservoirHollow PondHolly PondJacob PondLeroy PondMansfield PondMathers PondreservoirNicholas PondOld Farm PondOverbrook PondpondRoute PondSalisbury PondpondStreets PondreservoirTilleys PondWeeburn Country Club DampondWoodway Golf Club Pond
Biking & sports
7.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
53Tennis
12Pickleball
11Baseball
6Soccer
2Softball
2Football
2Basketball
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Darien: 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 42 | 49 | 61 | 70 | 79 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Darien →
Next door
Darien and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Stamford31 miNorwalk14 miNew Canaan11 miDarien8.7 miNoroton0.7 miNoroton Heights0.5 miTokeneke0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | 5% | 0.7 | 9 | 89% | B+ |
| Stamford | 11% | 0.8 | 11 | 87% | A− |
| Norwalk | 7% | 0.6 | 7 | 88% | B+ |
| Noroton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Tokeneke | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Noroton Heights | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| New Canaan | 6% | 0.5 | 20 | 54% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Darien
Where can I hike in Darien?
The longest trail networks: Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve, 0.4 miles; Baker Park, 0.3 miles; Tilley Pond Park, 0.3 miles; McGuane Field, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Darien 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 Darien’s trails?
Selleck's Woods Nature Preserve and Baker Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Darien?
7.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Darien?
11,202 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Darien or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 207 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Darien have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #122 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 Darien 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 →