Housatonic State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
686 acres5.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Canaan
21% of North Canaan’s land is conserved: 2,586 acres
The biggest trail networks: Housatonic State Forest (5.7 mi). 11 miles of mapped trail cross North Canaan, 0.5 per square mile of land. 11 acres are parks and preserves, 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #148 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
2,586 acres · of 19.4 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
11 ac
3.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,161 ft
Rattlesnake Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is North Canaan?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Canaan have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Canaan is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #148 of 155 in Connecticut. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Canaan’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land3.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home30% 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 52%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 5%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so North Canaan’s 21% is ahead of 69% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 10% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. 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 Housatonic State Forest, with 5.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Campbell Falls State Park Reserve
Nature preserve
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,586 conserved acres
21% of North Canaan’s land. Who manages North Canaan’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners830 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits734 ac
Other state land573 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)143 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government80 ac
Not recorded1,740 ac
Unknown Easement · 1,819 acConservation Easement · 736 acState Resource Management Area · 701 acAgricultural Easement · 302 acState Conservation Area · 193 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,338 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 55 of 68 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housatonic State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 701 | Unknown |
| Robbins Swamp Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 193 | Unknown |
| Unknown Unknown | Not recorded | 173 | Unknown |
| Blackberry River Flood Control Site 15 State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| Asen Conservation Easement Conservation Easement | Not recorded | 39 | Unknown |
| Connecticut, State of State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 30 | Unknown |
| Robbins Swamp Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Canaan Cemetary Association Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Unknown |
| St. Joseph's Cemetery Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Town of North Canaan Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in North Canaan
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in North Canaan
North Canaan Community Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in North Canaan
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in North Canaan
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in North Canaan
Rattlesnake Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsChurch Hill955 ft elevation
DirectionsDutcher Hill866 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in North Canaan
Lone Oak CampsitesFee · Lone Oak Campsites
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.7 mi
Stoney Lonesome Trail0.1 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
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Volleyball
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Canaan: May and August
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) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in North Canaan →
Next door
North Canaan and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in North Canaan
Where can I hike in North Canaan?
The longest trail networks: Housatonic State Forest, 5.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Canaan is conserved land?
21% 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 Canaan’s trails?
Housatonic State Forest and Beckley Furnace Industrial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near North Canaan?
48,109 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Canaan or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Canaan have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #148 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 Canaan 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 →