Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land
Managed by South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
5,769 acres22 mi of trail
Tommys PathReeds Gap Road East
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Northford Center · Photo: Jerry Dougherty · CC BY 2.5A−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Branford
39% of North Branford’s land is conserved: 6,263 acres
56 miles of mapped trail cross North Branford, 2.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land (22 mi), Big Gulph (7.3 mi), North Farms Park (2.4 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #79 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
6,263 acres · of 24.8 sq mi of land
Trails
56 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
175 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
577 ft
Totoket Mountain
Lakes & rivers
13
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is North Branford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Branford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Branford is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #79 of 155 in Connecticut. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Branford’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (56 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (175 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home42% 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 81%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 49%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so North Branford’s 39% is ahead of 98% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% of them.
Water is 7% of North Branford’s area (2 of 27 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 37%.
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 Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land, with 22 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Big Gulph
Managed by Regional Water Authority
558 acres7.3 mi of trail
Tommys Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
North Farms Park
Managed by Town of North Branford
102 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Harrison Farm Preserve
Managed by North Branford Land Conservation Trust
24 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Notch Hill Brook
Managed by North Branford Land Conservation Trust
45 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Angeloni Preserve
Managed by North Branford Land Conservation Trust
13 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Lane Pond Watershed Reserve Land
Managed by Town of Wallingford
43 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Totoket Valley Park
Managed by Town of North Branford
28 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 21 parks & preserves
Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land5,769 acres · 22 mi of trail · South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
DirectionsBig Gulph558 acres · 7.3 mi of trail · Regional Water Authority
DirectionsNorth Farms Park102 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · Town of North Branford
DirectionsHarrison Farm Preserve24 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · North Branford Land Conservation Trust
DirectionsNotch Hill Brook45 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · North Branford Land Conservation Trust
DirectionsAngeloni Preserve13 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · North Branford Land Conservation Trust
DirectionsLane Pond Watershed Reserve Land43 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Town of Wallingford
Totoket Valley Park28 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Town of North Branford
DirectionsConnecticut Sportsplex35 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSwajchuk Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of North Branford
DirectionsTown Open Space (Woodhouse Avenue)10 acres · Town of North Branford
McCluskey Preserve9 acres · North Branford Land Conservation Trust
Town Open Space (Totoket Road)8 acres · Town of North Branford
DirectionsTown Open Space (Barnett Property)7 acres · Town of North Branford
Great Hill7 acres · North Branford Land Conservation Trust
Town Open Space (Lake Road)5 acres · Town of North Branford
DirectionsMill Road Field5 acres
Town Open Space (Bittersweet Drive)4 acres · Town of North Branford
Town Open Space (Sunnyside Drive)4 acres · Town of North Branford
Kampmeyer Preserve2 acres · Guilford Land Conservation Trust
Town Open Space (Altiere Drive)1 acres · Town of North Branford
Who protects it
6,263 conserved acres
39% of North Branford’s land. Water is left out: North Branford has 24.8 square miles of land and 1.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages North Branford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land195 ac
State conservation66 ac
Not recorded6,065 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 5,648 acLocal Other or Unknown · 286 acUnknown Easement · 261 acPrivate Conservation · 121 acUnknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 196 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 35 of 40 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 5,897 | Unknown |
| North Farms Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 82 | Unknown |
| Salem Road Private Conservation | Not recorded | 27 | Unknown |
| Hunter Hill Road Private Conservation | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Town Open Space (woodhouse Avenue) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Great Hill Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Mccluskey Preserve Site Private Conservation | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Town Open Space (lake Road) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| Town Open Space (totoket Road) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Woodhouse Ave. Private Conservation | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
15 places to go in North Branford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in North Branford
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in North Branford
PlayscapeFee · In Connecticut Sportsplex
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in North Branford
Stair Brook Falls
DirectionsScenic views in North Branford
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in North Branford
Totoket Mountain577 ft elevation · In Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land
DirectionsSea Hill410 ft elevation · In Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land
DirectionsThunder Ridge318 ft elevation
DirectionsNotch Hill138 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 13 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 18.5 mi
Tommys Path1.6 mi
New England Trail0.5 mi
Reeds Gap Road East0.4 mi
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
11Baseball
10Soccer
7Tennis
4Basketball
2Lacrosse
2Softball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Warham Williams HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itGeorge Baldwin HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itFourth District SchoolBuilding · listed 1985
About itHowd-Linsley HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itNorth Branford Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1999
About itNorthford CenterDistrict · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in North Branford: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in North Branford →
Next door
North Branford and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Guilford156 miBranford74 miWallingford59 miNorth Branford56 miDurham49 miNorth Haven29 miEast Haven19 miNorthford7.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Branford | 39% | 2.3 | 13 | 42% | A− |
| Northford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Guilford | 26% | 3.3 | 152 | 79% | A+ |
| Wallingford | 15% | 1.5 | 56 | 82% | A |
| Branford | 27% | 3.4 | 11 | 67% | A |
| North Haven | 7% | 1.4 | 15 | 65% | A− |
| East Haven | 14% | 1.5 | 5 | 88% | A− |
| Durham | 24% | 2.1 | 104 | 51% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Branford
Where can I hike in North Branford?
The longest trail networks: Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land, 22 miles; Big Gulph, 7.3 miles; North Farms Park, 2.4 miles; Harrison Farm Preserve, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Branford is conserved land?
39% 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 North Branford’s trails?
Lake Gaillard Watershed Reserve Land and Big Gulph don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near North Branford?
13,064 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Branford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 175 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Branford have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #79 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 North Branford 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 →