Natchaug State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
5,612 acres24.8 mi of trail
Natchaug Forest TrailCCC TrailOld Boston Turnpike
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Eastford
49% of Eastford’s land is conserved: 9,005 acres
44 miles of mapped trail cross Eastford, 1.5 per square mile of land. 87 acres are parks and preserves, 52 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Natchaug State Forest (24.8 mi), Yale-Myers Forest (5.2 mi), Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (1.1 mi).
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
49%
9,005 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land
Trails
44 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
87 ac
52 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
856 ft
Vinton Hill
Lakes & rivers
15
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Eastford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eastford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eastford is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eastford’s overall grade.
Conserved land49% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (44 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land52 acres of park per 1,000 residents (87 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home13% 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 83%
LessMore
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Eastford’s 49% is ahead of 99% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 59% 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 Natchaug State Forest, with 24.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Yale-Myers Forest
Managed by Yale School Forests
2,373 acres5.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp
Nature preserve
129 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Crystal Pond Park
Managed by Town of Eastford
80 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Natchaug State Forest5,612 acres · 24.8 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsYale-Myers Forest2,373 acres · 5.2 mi of trail · Yale School Forests
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp129 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
Nathaniel Lyon Memorial State Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCrystal Pond Park80 acres · Town of Eastford
Nightingale Forest2 acres · Wyndham Land Trust
Who protects it
9,005 conserved acres
49% of Eastford’s land. Who manages Eastford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners616 ac
Other state land385 ac
State conservation81 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)22 ac
Not recorded8,382 ac
State Resource Management Area · 5,585 acResearch or Educational Area · 2,385 acUnknown Easement · 466 acPrivate Agricultural · 392 acConservation Easement · 224 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 232 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 44 of 55 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natchaug State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 5,585 | Unknown |
| Yale Forest Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 2,236 | Unknown |
| Unknown Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 751 | Unknown |
| Camp Nahaco Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 112 | Unknown |
| Halls Pond State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 86 | Unknown |
| Camp Wobbaquossett Private Conservation | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| East Dam Private Conservation | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
14 places to go in Eastford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Eastford
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Eastford
1 playground without a name on the map.
Peaks in Eastford
Vinton Hill856 ft elevation · In Yale-Myers Forest
DirectionsSprague Hill843 ft elevation · In Natchaug State Forest
DirectionsSherman Hill827 ft elevation · In Natchaug State Forest
DirectionsStallion Hill820 ft elevation · In Yale-Myers Forest
DirectionsPisgah Hill814 ft elevation
DirectionsSummer Hill774 ft elevation
DirectionsAllen Hill771 ft elevation · In Yale-Myers Forest
DirectionsThreemile Hill768 ft elevation
Directions3 more peaks
East Hill738 ft elevation
DirectionsPork Hill663 ft elevation
DirectionsBuell Hill646 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Eastford
Charlie Brown Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.6 miHorses · 4.4 miUnpaved · 31.2 mi
Natchaug Forest Trail3.7 mi
CCC Trail2.4 mi
Old Boston Turnpike0.6 mi
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Eastford: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Eastford →
Next door
Eastford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastford | 49% | 1.5 | 52 | 13% | A− |
| Ashford | 32% | 1.4 | 21 | 18% | A− |
| Woodstock | 18% | 0.5 | 30 | 34% | B+ |
| Pomfret | 33% | 1.0 | 250 | 32% | A |
| Hampton | 29% | 1.6 | 97 | 51% | A |
| Union | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Eastford
Where can I hike in Eastford?
The longest trail networks: Natchaug State Forest, 24.8 miles; Yale-Myers Forest, 5.2 miles; Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eastford is conserved land?
49% 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 Eastford’s trails?
Natchaug State Forest and Yale-Myers Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Eastford?
15,669 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eastford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eastford have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Eastford 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 →