1,181 acres are parks and preserves, 434 per 1,000 residents. 65 miles of mapped trail cross Sharon, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Housatonic State Forest (25.9 mi), Appalachian Trail Scenic Open Space (5.7 mi), Sharon Audubon Center (4.1 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #46 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
13,830 acres · of 58.8 sq mi of land
Trails
65 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,181 ac
434 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,552 ft
Ellsworth Hill
Lakes & rivers
15
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sharon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sharon is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #46 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 Sharon’s overall grade.
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Sharon’s 37% is ahead of 96% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% 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.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,668 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 276 of 352 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
4,363
Unknown
Unknown
Local Conservation Area
Not recorded
3,417
Unknown
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
National Scenic or Historic Trail
National Park Service
743
Open
Mary Moore Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded
181
Unknown
Housatonic Meadows State Park
State Park
Not recorded
180
Unknown
Beardsley Pond
Local Recreation Area
Not recorded
86
Unknown
Sharon Mountain Wildlife Area
State Conservation Area
Not recorded
59
Unknown
Bucksbaum
Local Conservation Area
Not recorded
49
Unknown
Benton Hill Fen
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits
37
Unknown
Sharon Mounatin Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded
17
Unknown
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
40 places to go in Sharon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sharon
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
11Tennis
2Basketball
2Baseball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Sharon: May, July 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
13.8
12.4
11.0
9.7
9.1
High (°F)
33
36
44
57
68
75
81
78
71
60
48
37
Rain (in)
3.4
2.7
3.7
3.6
3.9
4.7
4.5
4.4
4.8
4.8
3.6
4.1
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Sharon →
Next door
Sharon and its neighbors
Sharon has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sharon
Where can I hike in Sharon?
The longest trail networks: Housatonic State Forest, 25.9 miles; Appalachian Trail Scenic Open Space, 5.7 miles; Sharon Audubon Center, 4.1 miles; Von Ahn Preserve, 2.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sharon is conserved land?
37% 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 Sharon’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Von Ahn Preserve (on leash), D'Alton Preserve (on leash), Moore Preserve (on leash) and Sharon Mountain Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sharon?
23,180 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sharon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,923 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sharon have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 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 Sharon neighbors.
James Pardee House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0