Roosevelt Forest
Nature preserve
290 acres5.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: M.M.Dwyer · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Stratford
15% of Stratford’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
15% of Stratford’s land is conserved, about 1,639 acres. The biggest trail networks: Roosevelt Forest (5.2 mi), Stratford Point Reserve (1 mi), Short Beach Park (0.7 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Stratford, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #75 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
1,639 acres · of 17.5 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
458 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
Highest peak
197 ft
Prospect Hill
Lakes & rivers
11
3 beaches · 7 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Stratford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Stratford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stratford is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #75 of 155 in Connecticut. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Stratford’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (458 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 82%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 52%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Stratford’s 15% is ahead of 49% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
Water is 12% of Stratford’s area (2 of 20 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.
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 Roosevelt Forest, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stratford Point Reserve
Managed by Audubon Connecticut
26 acres1 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
428 acres0.5 mi of trail
Great Meadows Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 20 parks & preserves
Roosevelt Forest290 acres · 5.2 mi of trail
DirectionsStratford Point Reserve26 acres · 1 mi of trail · Audubon Connecticut
Short Beach Park98 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsStewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge428 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsBoothe Memorial Park32 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsClover Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFar Mill River Park35 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLow Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Long Brook Park35 acres
DirectionsWooster Park33 acres
DirectionsShakespeare Park14 acres
DirectionsVeterans Park13 acres · Town of Stratford
Spring Pond Park12 acres
North End Park5 acres
DirectionsHigh Park3 acres
Pleasure Beach Park2 acres
Paradise Green Park2 acres
DirectionsCharles E Wheeler Wildlife Area1 acres
George Force Park1 acres
Roger Sherman Baldwin Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,639 conserved acres
15% of Stratford’s land. Water is left out: Stratford has 17.5 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Stratford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service855 ac
Town or city669 ac
State conservation62 ac
Private owners16 ac
Not recorded921 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 855 acLocal Other or Unknown · 782 acLocal Park · 655 acPrivate Conservation · 66 acState Conservation Area · 47 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 44 of 77 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 | 874 | Unknown |
| Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 855 | Restricted |
| Roosevelt Forest Local Park | Town or city | 293 | Open |
| Short Beach Local Park | Town or city | 74 | Open |
| Long Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Boothe Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Far Mill River Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Longbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| James Farm Road Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
28 places to go in Stratford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Stratford
Playgrounds in Stratford
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Stratford
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Stratford
Campgrounds in Stratford
Boy Scout campIn Roosevelt Forest
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Stratford
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
Great Meadows Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
10Baseball
10Basketball
5Pickleball
1Soccer
1Softball
1Multi-sport
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Capt. David Judson HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itSterling HomesteadBuilding · listed 1976
About itNathaniel Curtis HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itStratford Center Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itBoothe HomesteadDistrict · listed 1985
About itHousatonic River Railroad BridgeStructure · listed 1987
About itStratford Point LighthouseStructure · listed 1990
About itIsaac Lewis HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itEphraim Wheeler HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itNathan B. Booth HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Stratford: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 41 | 48 | 60 | 69 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 65 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Stratford →
Next door
Stratford and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Shelton45 miTrumbull43 miMilford22 miBridgeport22 miTrumbull Center13 miStratford12 miLordship1.3 miOronoque0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stratford | 15% | 0.7 | 9 | 98% | A− |
| Bridgeport | 7% | 1.4 | 5 | 90% | B+ |
| Shelton | 21% | 1.5 | 14 | 56% | A− |
| Oronoque | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milford | 9% | 1.0 | 22 | 85% | A− |
| Trumbull | 11% | 1.9 | 36 | 92% | A |
| Trumbull Center | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lordship | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Stratford
Where can I hike in Stratford?
The longest trail networks: Roosevelt Forest, 5.2 miles; Stratford Point Reserve, 1 miles; Short Beach Park, 0.7 miles; Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Stratford is conserved land?
15% 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 Stratford’s trails?
Roosevelt Forest and Stratford Point Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Stratford?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Stratford?
8,558 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stratford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 458 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Stratford have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #75 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 Stratford 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 →