Meshomasic State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
2,460 acres31.7 mi of trail
Shenipsit Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in East Hampton
East Hampton has 74 miles of mapped trails, 2.1 for every square mile of land
24% of East Hampton’s land is conserved, about 5,461 acres. 1,079 acres are parks and preserves, 83 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Meshomasic State Forest (31.7 mi), Hurd State Park (17.4 mi), Salmon River State Forest (2.1 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #41 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
5,461 acres · of 35.7 sq mi of land
Trails
74 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,079 ac
83 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
6.0 mi paths
Highest peak
791 ft
Clark Hill
Lakes & rivers
17
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is East Hampton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does East Hampton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Hampton is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #41 of 155 in Connecticut. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Hampton’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (74 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land83 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,079 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13AParks close to home43% 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 90%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 74%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so East Hampton’s 24% is ahead of 78% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Meshomasic State Forest, with 31.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hurd State Park
Nature preserve
905 acres17.4 mi of trail
Furnace
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Salmon River State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
579 acres2.1 mi of trail
SwitchyOverlookTwin Peaks-Overlook Connector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Upper Pine Brook Preserve
Managed by Middlesex Land Trust
27 acres0.9 mi of trail
Orange Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pine Brook Falls Preserve
Managed by Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
81 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 18 parks & preserves
Meshomasic State Forest2,460 acres · 31.7 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsHurd State Park905 acres · 17.4 mi of trail
DirectionsSalmon River State Forest579 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsUpper Pine Brook Preserve27 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Middlesex Land Trust
DirectionsPine Brook Falls Preserve81 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsSilvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge301 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Airline State Park Trail (Southern Section)108 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · State of Connecticut
DirectionsTown Open Space/Landfill36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Salmon River Division82 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Town Open Space (Pine Brook)187 acres
Conservation Showcase46 acres
Loos Pond Conservation Area31 acres
Fireman's Recreation Area8 acres
DirectionsSeamster Park8 acres · Town of East Hampton
Town Open Space (White Birch Estates)7 acres
Sears Park6 acres · Town of East Hampton
DirectionsPlayground Trails4 acres · Town of East Haddam
George Dudley Seymour State Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
5,461 conserved acres
24% of East Hampton’s land. Who manages East Hampton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service533 ac
Other state land208 ac
U.S. Forest Service121 ac
State conservation78 ac
Town or city9 ac
Not recorded4,834 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,828 acState Park · 1,013 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 533 acState Conservation Area · 408 acLocal Other or Unknown · 395 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 311 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 81 of 90 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meshomasic State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 2,060 | Unknown |
| Hurd State Park State Park | Not recorded | 888 | Unknown |
| Silvio O. Conte National Fish And Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 533 | Restricted |
| Unknown State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 492 | Unknown |
| Salmon River State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 463 | Unknown |
| Wopowog Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 408 | Unknown |
| Meshomasic State Forest (Old Forest Management Area) State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 304 | Unknown |
| Airline State Park Trail (Southern Section) State Park | Not recorded | 121 | Unknown |
| Conservation Showcase Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 55 | Unknown |
| Loos Pond Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 33 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
31 places to go in East Hampton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in East Hampton
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in East Hampton
Seamster's Park PlaygroundIn Seamster Park
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in East Hampton
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in East Hampton
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in East Hampton
Cascade
DirectionsPine Brook FallsIn Pine Brook Falls Preserve
DirectionsShipyard Falls
DirectionsTartia Falls
DirectionsThe CascadeIn Meshomasic State Forest
DirectionsScenic views in East Hampton
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in East Hampton
Clark Hill791 ft elevation
DirectionsGreat Hill728 ft elevation · In Meshomasic State Forest
DirectionsBaker Hill669 ft elevation
DirectionsHog Hill538 ft elevation
DirectionsChestnut Hill525 ft elevation
DirectionsGate Hill427 ft elevation
DirectionsBarton Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsWhite Mountain397 ft elevation · In Hurd State Park
Directions2 more peaks
Sexton Hill351 ft elevation
DirectionsSplit Rock279 ft elevation · In Hurd State Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in East Hampton
Markham Meadows Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.9 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 37.3 mi
Heading In1.4 mi
Shenipsit Trail1.3 mi
Orange Trail0.9 mi
Furnace0.6 mi
Daly Rd Trail0.4 mi
Switchy0.3 mi
Overlook0.3 mi
CQT0.3 mi
Entry Trail0.2 mi
Gas Line0.2 mi
2 more trails
Twin Peaks-Overlook Connector
0.1 miFlannery Row
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Tennis
7Soccer
6Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in East Hampton: 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) | 36 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in East Hampton →
Next door
East Hampton and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Glastonbury174 miEast Haddam120 miHaddam103 miMiddletown82 miEast Hampton74 miColchester69 miPortland63 miMarlborough28 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Hampton | 24% | 2.1 | 83 | 43% | A |
| Portland | 34% | 2.7 | 32 | 52% | A |
| East Haddam | 27% | 2.2 | 126 | 34% | A |
| Middletown | 13% | 2.0 | 19 | 62% | A− |
| Colchester | 20% | 1.4 | 25 | 33% | A− |
| Marlborough | 27% | 1.2 | 33 | 71% | A |
| Haddam | 30% | 2.3 | 132 | 35% | A |
| Glastonbury | 29% | 3.4 | 72 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in East Hampton
Where can I hike in East Hampton?
The longest trail networks: Meshomasic State Forest, 31.7 miles; Hurd State Park, 17.4 miles; Salmon River State Forest, 2.1 miles; Upper Pine Brook Preserve, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of East Hampton is conserved land?
24% 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 East Hampton’s trails?
Meshomasic State Forest and Hurd State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in East Hampton?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near East Hampton?
14,297 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Hampton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,079 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does East Hampton have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #41 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 East Hampton 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 →