TriTown Forest Preserve
Managed by Avalonia Land Conservancy
181 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Griswold
29% of Griswold’s land is conserved: 6,342 acres
1,688 acres are parks and preserves, 146 per 1,000 residents. 34 miles of mapped trail cross Griswold, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: TriTown Forest Preserve (3.7 mi), Hopeville Pond State Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #25 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
6,342 acres · of 34.7 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,688 ac
146 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
515 ft
Stone Hill
Lakes & rivers
19
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Griswold?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild29% of the land is conserved; a typical Connecticut town, 15%.Room to roam146 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 79% of U.S. towns.History along the way7 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Griswold have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Griswold is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #25 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Griswold’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land146 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,688 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13AParks close to home65% 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 92%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 84%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Griswold’s 29% is ahead of 88% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
Water is 6% of Griswold’s area (2 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 27%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 TriTown Forest Preserve, with 3.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hopeville Pond State Park
Nature preserve
518 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pachaug Outdoor Club
Managed by Pachaug Outdoor Club
76 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Jewett City Little League Complex
Managed by Town of Griswold
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
TriTown Forest Preserve181 acres · 3.7 mi of trail · Avalonia Land Conservancy
Hopeville Pond State Park518 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Griswold
DirectionsPachaug Outdoor Club76 acres · Pachaug Outdoor Club
Jewett City Little League Complex7 acres · Town of Griswold
DirectionsPasquale and Maria Camputaro Memorial Field5 acres · Town of Griswold
DirectionsGlasgo Pond Boat Launch2 acres · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsWho protects it
6,342 conserved acres
29% of Griswold’s land. Water is left out: Griswold has 34.7 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Griswold’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,040 ac
Other state land521 ac
Private owners104 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government8 ac
Not recorded5,470 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,228 acState Recreation Area · 1,120 acConservation Easement · 980 acUnknown Easement · 521 acState Park · 512 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 801 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 89 of 105 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pachaug State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 2,867 | Unknown |
| Pachaug Pond State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 796 | Unknown |
| Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 575 | Unknown |
| Hopeville Pond State Park State Park | Not recorded | 512 | Unknown |
| Patchaug State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 361 | Unknown |
| Hopeville Pond State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 162 | Unknown |
| Glasgo Pond State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 161 | Unknown |
| Devil's Den/Saugatuck Forest Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 63 | Closed |
| Mary and John Walton Meadow Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Quinebaug Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Griswold
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Griswold
PTO Dedicated PlaygroundIn Jewett City Little League Complex
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Griswold
Glasgo Pond Boat LaunchIn Glasgo Pond Boat Launch
DirectionsPachaug Pond Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Griswold
Stone Hill515 ft elevation
DirectionsBay Mountain499 ft elevation
DirectionsBreakneck Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsGeer Hill331 ft elevation
DirectionsSpy Rock315 ft elevation
DirectionsTaylor Hill282 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Griswold
Camper's World at Hopeville Pond
DirectionsCountryside RV Park
DirectionsPachaug Marina and Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 19 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miHorses · 3.9 miUnpaved · 17.2 mi
Pachaug Enduro Trail2.5 mi
Pachaug Horse Trail1.5 mi
Trail 2 - Pachaug West Connector0.8 mi
Trail 2 - Pachaug East Connector0.7 mi
Trail 2 - Pachaug Middle Connector0.5 mi
Tatro Trail0.3 mi
Carole Baskin Trail0.3 mi
Trail 2 - Pachaug Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Ashland PondreservoirBillings Brook PondCalvin Wilcox PondpondClayville PondlakeDoaneville PondlakeGlasgo PondreservoirGrist Mill PondreservoirHopeville PondpondLanding Strip PondLost PondpondPachaug PondreservoirRubber PondStone Hill ReservoirreservoirUnited PondreservoirWelch PondWoodmansee PondpondAspinook PondPachaug RiverQuinebaug 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
5Soccer
4Basketball
4Tennis
4Baseball
2Tracks
1Football
1Softball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
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.
John Wilson HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itAvery HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itEdward Cogswell HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itTimothy Lester FarmsteadBuilding · listed 1998
About itBrewster HomesteadBuilding · listed 2000
About itKinne CemeterySite · listed 2001
About itSlater Library and Fanning AnnexBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Griswold: 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 | 40 | 47 | 59 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 52 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Griswold →
Next door
Griswold and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Voluntown83 miNorth Stonington75 miGriswold34 miPreston24 miPlainfield23 miLisbon4.2 miJewett City0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griswold | 29% | 1.0 | 146 | 65% | A |
| Lisbon | 3% | 0.3 | 14 | 17% | C+ |
| Jewett City | 6% | 0.7 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Voluntown | 67% | 2.1 | 122 | 32% | A |
| Preston | 8% | 0.8 | 8 | 32% | B− |
| Plainfield | 14% | 0.5 | 7 | 50% | B |
| North Stonington | 23% | 1.4 | 28 | 18% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Griswold
Where can I hike in Griswold?
The longest trail networks: TriTown Forest Preserve, 3.7 miles; Hopeville Pond State Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Griswold is conserved land?
29% 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 Griswold’s trails?
TriTown Forest Preserve and Hopeville Pond State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Griswold?
8,794 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Griswold or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,688 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Griswold have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Griswold 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 →