Wadsworth Falls State Park
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
171 acres4.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
David Lyman II House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Middlefield
28% of Middlefield’s land is conserved: 2,234 acres
22 miles of mapped trail cross Middlefield, 1.7 per square mile of land. 329 acres are parks and preserves, 78 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Wadsworth Falls State Park (4.3 mi), King Property (1.5 mi), Higby Mountain Easement (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #17 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
2,234 acres · of 12.6 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
329 ac
78 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
Highest peak
719 ft
Beseck Mountain
Lakes & rivers
15
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Middlefield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlefield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlefield is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #17 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 Middlefield’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land78 acres of park per 1,000 residents (329 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home68% 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 94%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 90%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Middlefield’s 28% is ahead of 87% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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 Wadsworth Falls State Park, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
King Property
Nature preserve
78 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Higby Mountain Easement
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
67 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Peckham Field
Managed by Town of Middlefield
21 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Wadsworth Falls State Park171 acres · 4.3 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsKing Property78 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsHigby Mountain Easement67 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
Peckham Field21 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Town of Middlefield
DirectionsDurham Meadows Wildlife Management Area26 acres · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsLucy Strickland Estate11 acres · Lions Club
DirectionsWho protects it
2,234 conserved acres
28% of Middlefield’s land. Who manages Middlefield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation249 ac
Other state land193 ac
Town or city109 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits64 ac
Not recorded1,657 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 1,045 acLocal Other or Unknown · 478 acUnknown Easement · 303 acPrivate Conservation · 186 acState Park · 166 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 260 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 56 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Higby Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 804 | Unknown |
| Unknown Private Conservation | Not recorded | 490 | Unknown |
| Wadsworth Falls State Park State Park | Not recorded | 166 | Unknown |
| Beseck Lake Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 123 | Closed |
| Laurel Brook Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 121 | Unknown |
| Strickland Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Higby Mountain Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 64 | Unknown |
| Cockaponset State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 37 | Unknown |
| Durham Meadows Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Black Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Other state land | 19 | Restricted |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
23 places to go in Middlefield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Middlefield
Lake Beseck Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Middlefield
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Middlefield
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Middlefield
Beseck Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsBlack Pond Boat Launch (Middlefield)
DirectionsWaterfalls in Middlefield
Wadsworth FallsIn Wadsworth Falls State Park
DirectionsWadsworth Little FallsIn Wadsworth Falls State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Middlefield
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Middlefield
Beseck Mountain719 ft elevation
DirectionsCamels Hump679 ft elevation
DirectionsCoe Hill495 ft elevation
DirectionsJackson Hill492 ft elevation
DirectionsCherry Hill262 ft elevation
DirectionsSugarloaf Hill253 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.9 mi
Black Pond Trail0.3 mi
Blue/Red Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Soccer
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Softball
1Skate park
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Middlefield: 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 | 10.5 | 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 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Middlefield →
Next door
Middlefield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlefield | 28% | 1.7 | 78 | 68% | A |
| Middletown | 13% | 2.0 | 19 | 62% | A− |
| Durham | 24% | 2.1 | 104 | 51% | A |
| Meriden | 14% | 1.9 | 28 | 87% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Middlefield
Where can I hike in Middlefield?
The longest trail networks: Wadsworth Falls State Park, 4.3 miles; King Property, 1.5 miles; Higby Mountain Easement, 0.9 miles; Peckham Field, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middlefield is conserved land?
28% 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 Middlefield’s trails?
Wadsworth Falls State Park and King Property don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Middlefield?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Middlefield?
14,066 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlefield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 329 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middlefield have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #17 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 Middlefield 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 →