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Killingworth (CT) Public LibraryPhoto: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Killingworth

Killingworth has 73 miles of mapped trails, 2.1 for every square mile of land

26% of Killingworth’s land is conserved, about 5,903 acres. The biggest trail networks: Cockaponset State Forest (15 mi), Chatfield Hollow State Park (7.5 mi), Lake Hammonasset Public Watershed Land (6.7 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #141 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

Conserved land
26%
5,903 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
73 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
32 ac
5.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
502 ft
Bunker Hill
Lakes & rivers
20
1 beach

What kind of outdoors town is Killingworth?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 94% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild26% of the land is conserved; a typical Connecticut town, 15%.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Killingworth have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Killingworth is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #141 of 155 in Connecticut. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Killingworth’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (73 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (32 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13CParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 9%

Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Killingworth’s 26% is ahead of 82% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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.

12345678
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 Cockaponset State Forest, with 15 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Cockaponset State Forest

Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
2,209 acres15 mi of trail
East Woods TrailChatfield TrailGreenLookout Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Chatfield Hollow State Park

Managed by State of Connecticut
410 acres7.5 mi of trail
Deep Woods TrailRidge TrailWest Crest TrailPond Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Lake Hammonasset Public Watershed Land

Managed by South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
799 acres6.7 mi of trail
West Crest Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Killingworth Reservoir Watershed Reserve Land

Managed by Connecticut Water Company
1,215 acres4.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Hammonasset Fishing Association Lands

Managed by Hammonasset Fishing Association
1,424 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Welter Woods

Managed by Killingworth Land Conservation Trust
57 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Forster Pond State Park

Managed by State of Connecticut
214 acres1.3 mi of trail
Chatfield Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Camp Pardee Preserve

Managed by Killingworth Land Conservation Trust
22 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Cockaponset State Forest2,209 acres · 15 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Directions
Chatfield Hollow State Park410 acres · 7.5 mi of trail · State of Connecticut
Directions
Lake Hammonasset Public Watershed Land799 acres · 6.7 mi of trail · South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
Directions
Killingworth Reservoir Watershed Reserve Land1,215 acres · 4.3 mi of trail · Connecticut Water Company
Directions
Hammonasset Fishing Association Lands1,424 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · Hammonasset Fishing Association
Directions
Welter Woods57 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Killingworth Land Conservation Trust
Directions
Forster Pond State Park214 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · State of Connecticut
Directions
Camp Pardee Preserve22 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Killingworth Land Conservation Trust
Directions
Platt Nature Center10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Killingworth Land Conservation Trust
Directions
Killingworth Recreational Park20 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Directions
Irene Sheldon Memorial Park11 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Town Open Space (Durham Road)26 acres
Who protects it

5,903 conserved acres

26% of Killingworth’s land. Who manages Killingworth’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits2,025 ac
State conservation475 ac
Not recorded4,407 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,025 acState Other or Unknown · 1,585 acState Resource Management Area · 1,515 acPrivate Conservation · 954 acLocal Other or Unknown · 521 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,495 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 119 of 132 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Unknown
Private Conservation
Not recorded2,808Unknown
Cockaponset State Forest
State Resource Management Area
Not recorded1,181Unknown
Deer Lake
Private Conservation
Not recorded240Unknown
CT Department of Environmental Protection 54
State Resource Management Area
State conservation170Open
Chatfield Hollow State Park (Old Forest Management Area)
State Resource Management Area
Not recorded156Unknown
Chatfield Hollow State Park (Old Forest Management Area
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded13Unknown
Cockaponset State Forest (Old Forest Management Area)
State Resource Management Area
Not recorded8Unknown
Millbrook
Private Conservation
Not recorded1Unknown
Heatherwood
Private Conservation
Not recorded1Unknown
Things to do

35 places to go in Killingworth

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Killingworth
Bunker Hill502 ft elevation
Directions
Bunker Hill443 ft elevation
Directions
Tower Hill413 ft elevation
Directions
Buell Hill390 ft elevation
Directions
Roast Meat Hill338 ft elevation
Directions
Chestnut Hill312 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

18 named trails and 20 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.2 miHorses · 16.2 miUnpaved · 28.5 mi
East Woods Trail2.2 mi
Deep Woods Trail1.7 mi
Chatfield Trail1.4 mi
Lookout Trail1.3 mi
Lower Hammonasset Trail1.2 mi
Ridge Trail1.1 mi
West Crest Trail1.0 mi
Green0.8 mi
Pond Trail0.7 mi
Wolf Hollow Trail0.7 mi
8 more trails
Sensory Interpretive Trail
0.7 mi
East Woods Connector
0.6 mi
Covered Bridge Trail
0.6 mi
Champlin Trail
0.4 mi
Nature Trail
0.4 mi
Chimney Trail
0.3 mi
Paul Wildermann Boardwalk
0.2 mi
Winkel's Pond Trail
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bunker Hill Road DamDeer LakereservoirFosters PondreservoirFrank Serafino PondpondFricks PondpondKillingworth ReservoirreservoirKroopa PondMurray Pond No 1pondMurray Pond No 3pondMurray Pond Number 2reservoirOld Mill PondpondPete's PondpondRoads End Farm PondpondRoast Meat Hill PondpondRyans PondSchreeder PondTetram PondreservoirWinkel's PondpondHammonasset RiverMenunketesuck 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
5Baseball
4Soccer
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Football

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 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.

History →
Oak LodgeBuilding · listed 1986
About it
Emmanuel ChurchBuilding · listed 1999
About it
Parmelee HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Killingworth: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.611.813.314.515.114.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)384047596977838174635243
Rain (in)3.63.14.24.33.54.33.73.84.24.43.94.3

February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Killingworth →

Next door

Killingworth and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Madison108 miHaddam103 miKillingworth73 miDurham49 miClinton26 miWestbrook24 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Killingworth26%2.159%B
Madison37%3.06041%A
Clinton12%1.61650%A−
Durham24%2.110451%A
Haddam30%2.313235%A
Westbrook17%1.51452%A−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Killingworth

Where can I hike in Killingworth?

The longest trail networks: Cockaponset State Forest, 15 miles; Chatfield Hollow State Park, 7.5 miles; Lake Hammonasset Public Watershed Land, 6.7 miles; Killingworth Reservoir Watershed Reserve Land, 4.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Killingworth is conserved land?

26% 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 Killingworth’s trails?

Cockaponset State Forest and Chatfield Hollow State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Killingworth?

13,713 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Killingworth or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Killingworth have?

Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #141 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 Killingworth neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →