Mattatuck State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
500 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Prb06787 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Thomaston
19% of Thomaston’s land is conserved: 1,477 acres
12 miles of mapped trail cross Thomaston, 1.0 per square mile of land. 279 acres are parks and preserves, 37 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Mattatuck State Forest (2.7 mi), Black Rock State Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #33 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
1,477 acres · of 12.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
279 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,017 ft
Lattin Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Thomaston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Thomaston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Thomaston is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #33 of 155 in Connecticut. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Thomaston’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (279 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home82% of residents within a half mile of a park · CT 57% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 79%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Thomaston’s 19% is ahead of 64% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 28% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Mattatuck State Forest, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Black Rock State Park
Nature preserve
100 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Thomaston Dam
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
168 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Town Open Space (Dug Road)
Nature preserve
106 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Mattatuck State Forest500 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsBlack Rock State Park100 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsThomaston Dam168 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsNystrom Park56 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTown Open Space (Dug Road)106 acres
Vista Park3 acres
DirectionsReeves Field2 acres
DirectionsTown Playground1 acres · Town of Thomaston
DirectionsWho protects it
1,477 conserved acres
19% of Thomaston’s land. Who manages Thomaston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city115 ac
Private owners2 ac
Not recorded1,458 ac
State Resource Management Area · 644 acLocal Other or Unknown · 467 acLocal Conservation Area · 105 acPrivate Conservation · 93 acState Park · 86 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 47 of 54 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mattatuck State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 644 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 537 | Unknown |
| Town Open Space (Dug Road) Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| Black Rock State Park State Park | Not recorded | 86 | Unknown |
| Wigwam Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 70 | Unknown |
| Nystrom's Park Local Park | Not recorded | 64 | Unknown |
| Center Cemetery Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| St. Thomas Cemetery Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| West Side Cemetery (aka Plymouth Cemetery) Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| Highwood Farms Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Thomaston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Thomaston
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Thomaston
Lattin Hill1,017 ft elevation
DirectionsWalnut Hill1,007 ft elevation
DirectionsHickory Hill837 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
4Tennis
4Baseball
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Thomaston: 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 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Thomaston →
Next door
Thomaston and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomaston | 19% | 1.0 | 37 | 82% | A |
| Watertown | 18% | 1.2 | 44 | 50% | A |
| Litchfield | 36% | 0.9 | 39 | 44% | A− |
| Plymouth | 9% | 0.8 | 11 | 60% | B+ |
| Morris | 32% | 1.8 | 12 | 5% | B+ |
| Harwinton | 14% | 1.5 | 38 | 17% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Thomaston
Where can I hike in Thomaston?
The longest trail networks: Mattatuck State Forest, 2.7 miles; Black Rock State Park, 0.6 miles; Thomaston Dam, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Thomaston is conserved land?
19% 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 Thomaston’s trails?
Mattatuck State Forest and Black Rock State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Thomaston?
8,514 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Thomaston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 279 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Thomaston have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #33 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 Thomaston 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 →