Kathan Woods
Managed by Prospect Land Trust
82 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Prospect
Prospect has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Kathan Woods (1.9 mi), Hotchkiss Field (0.8 mi). 162 acres are parks and preserves, 17 per 1,000 residents. 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #146 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
285 acres · of 14.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
162 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
863 ft
Turkey Hill
Lakes & rivers
11
What kind of outdoors town is Prospect?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Prospect have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Prospect is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #146 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 Prospect’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (162 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13BParks close to home38% 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 57%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 6%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Prospect’s 3% is ahead of 1% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% 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 Kathan Woods, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Roaring Brook Park
Managed by Town of Cheshire
14 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Luke Street Wetland
Nature preserve
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 14 parks & preserves
Kathan Woods82 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Prospect Land Trust
DirectionsHotchkiss Field20 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsRoaring Brook Park14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Town of Cheshire
Ben's Homestead18 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Cheshire
Naugatuck State Forest - Mount Sanford Block7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMixville Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Cheshire
Luke Street Wetland50 acres
McGrath Park29 acres · Prospect Parks and Recreation
DirectionsNaugatuck State Forest7 acres · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Old Kalinauskas Farm7 acres
Canfield Park7 acres · Prospect Parks and Recreation
DirectionsRaudis Farm6 acres
Russell Family Memorial4 acres · Cheshire Land Trust
Forger Park2 acres
Who protects it
285 conserved acres
3% of Prospect’s land. Who manages Prospect’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city109 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded171 ac
Local Recreation Area · 103 acLocal Other or Unknown · 78 acPrivate Conservation · 61 acState Other or Unknown · 20 acState Resource Management Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Private Conservation | Not recorded | 139 | Unknown |
| Fusco Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 62 | Open |
| Hotchkiss Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Prospect Ridge Greenbelt State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Naugatuck State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Canfield Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Cheshire Land Trust. Inc. (Helen Russell Memorial) Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Open |
| Mixville Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Town Green State Conservation Area | Other state land | 2 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Prospect
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Prospect
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Prospect
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Prospect
Turkey Hill863 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill853 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Mountain830 ft elevation
DirectionsTalmadge Hill807 ft elevation
DirectionsBluff Head535 ft elevation · In Kathan Woods
DirectionsTrails & water
11 lakes & rivers
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
12Baseball
9Tennis
6Soccer
3Basketball
1Skate park
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Prospect: 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) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Prospect →
Next door
Prospect and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Prospect
Where can I hike in Prospect?
The longest trail networks: Kathan Woods, 1.9 miles; Hotchkiss Field, 0.8 miles; Roaring Brook Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Prospect is conserved land?
3% 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 Prospect’s trails?
Kathan Woods and Hotchkiss Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Prospect?
9,768 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Prospect or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 162 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Prospect have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #146 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 Prospect 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 →