City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands
Managed by City of New Britain Water Department
1,095 acres20.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: 3Dimka at en.wikipedia · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Southington
Southington has 69 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands (20.8 mi), Crescent Lake Park (7.8 mi), Panthorn Park (3.3 mi). 9% of Southington’s land is conserved, about 1,998 acres. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #128 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,998 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
69 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
478 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
5.7 mi paths
Highest peak
315 ft
Churchill Hill
Lakes & rivers
25
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Southington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Southington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Southington is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #128 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 Southington’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (69 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (478 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home36% 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 68%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 18%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Southington’s 9% is ahead of 17% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
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 City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands, with 20.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crescent Lake Park
Managed by Town of Southington Highway and Parks Department
218 acres7.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Panthorn Park
Park
104 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land
Managed by City of Meriden Water Department
78 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Southington Land Conservation Trust
17 acres0.8 mi of trail
Orange TrailYellow TrailWhite Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Toffolon Preserve
Managed by Environmental Learning Centers
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ragged Mountain Memorial Preserve
Managed by Town of Berlin
14 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Timberlin Park
Managed by Town of Berlin
12 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 15 parks & preserves
City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands1,095 acres · 20.8 mi of trail · City of New Britain Water Department
DirectionsCrescent Lake Park218 acres · 7.8 mi of trail · Town of Southington Highway and Parks Department
DirectionsPanthorn Park104 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCity of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land78 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · City of Meriden Water Department
DirectionsWedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary17 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Southington Land Conservation Trust
Toffolon Preserve31 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Environmental Learning Centers
Ragged Mountain Memorial Preserve14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Town of Berlin
DirectionsTimberlin Park12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Town of Berlin
Southington Recreation Park55 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFarmington Canal Line State Park Trail34 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park27 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Forestville Fishing Club117 acres
Mountain Grove Swim Club24 acres · Mountain Grove Club Inc
DirectionsEightmile River State Access Area11 acres · State of Connecticut
Pexto Field2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,998 conserved acres
9% of Southington’s land. Who manages Southington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city228 ac
State conservation219 ac
Other state land103 ac
Not recorded1,648 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 945 acPrivate Conservation · 573 acUnknown Easement · 322 acLocal Conservation Area · 173 acLocal Park · 125 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 147 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 133 of 137 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1,048 | Unknown |
| Crescent Lake Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 173 | Open |
| Lake Compounce Private Conservation | Not recorded | 143 | Unknown |
| YMCA Camp Sloper Private Conservation | Not recorded | 140 | Unknown |
| Bristol Fish and Game Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 101 | Unknown |
| Ragged Mountain Private Conservation | Not recorded | 54 | Unknown |
| Southington Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Grannis Pond Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| West Peak State Park Local Park | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
43 places to go in Southington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Southington
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Southington
Anchor Bay
DirectionsBayou Bay
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Southington
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Southington
Southington Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Southington
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Southington
Churchill Hill315 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Southington
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Southington
Bear Creek Campground
DirectionsYMCA Camp SloperYMCA Camp Sloper
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 25 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.9 miHorses · 1.1 miUnpaved · 9.0 mi
Cardinal Trail0.9 mi
Orange Trail0.6 mi
Grackle Trail0.3 mi
Hummingbird Trail0.2 mi
Yellow Trail0.1 mi
White Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Alligator PondBlack PondpondBurritt Street PondCalvanese PondCrescent LakelakeDuksa Farm PondFlorians PondpondGrannis PondreservoirLacourse PondpondLake CompouncereservoirLake NaturalMill PondOld Mill PondPark PondShuttle Meadow ReservoirreservoirSloper's PondpondSmith Brothers PondreservoirSmith PondSouthington Reservoir Number 1reservoirSouthington Reservoir Number 3reservoirSpring LakereservoirWassel ReservoirreservoirEightmile RiverQuinnipiac RiverTenmile River
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.7 mi
off-road bike paths
5.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
20Baseball
11Tennis
8Pickleball
8Basketball
7Softball
6Soccer
5Tracks
3Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →39 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.
Webster, Horace, FarmhouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itSmith, H. D., Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1977
About itLake Compounce CarouselStructure · listed 1978
About itLevi B. Frost HouseBuilding · listed 1987
About itMeriden Avenue-Oakland Road Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itWest Street SchoolBuilding · listed 1988
About itPlantsville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itAtwater Manufacturing CompanyBuilding · listed 1988
About itBlakeslee Forging CompanyBuilding · listed 1988
About itClark Brothers Factory No. 2Building · listed 1988
About itHurwood CompanyBuilding · listed 1988
About itPultz & Walkley CompanyBuilding · listed 1988
About it27 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Southington: 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 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 85 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Southington →
Next door
Southington and its neighbors
Southington has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Berlin74 miSouthington69 miCheshire49 miMeriden44 miBristol28 miWolcott20 miPlainville18 miNew Britain16 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southington | 9% | 1.9 | 11 | 36% | B+ |
| Cheshire | 12% | 1.5 | 15 | 67% | A− |
| Berlin | 26% | 2.8 | 81 | 84% | A+ |
| Bristol | 6% | 1.1 | 10 | 71% | B+ |
| Wolcott | 2% | 1.0 | 5 | 30% | C+ |
| Meriden | 14% | 1.9 | 28 | 87% | A |
| New Britain | 7% | 1.2 | 8 | 89% | A− |
| Plainville | 8% | 1.9 | 10 | 89% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Southington
Where can I hike in Southington?
The longest trail networks: City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands, 20.8 miles; Crescent Lake Park, 7.8 miles; Panthorn Park, 3.3 miles; City of Meriden Watershed Reserve Land, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Southington is conserved land?
9% 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 Southington’s trails?
City of New Britain Public Watershed Lands and Crescent Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Southington?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.7 of off-road paths and 5.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Southington?
20,171 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Southington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 478 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Southington have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #128 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 Southington 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 →