Cockaponset State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
678 acres6.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Westbrook
Westbrook has 24 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
17% of Westbrook’s land is conserved, about 1,721 acres. The biggest trail networks: Cockaponset State Forest (6.1 mi), Horse Hill Woods Open Space (4.7 mi), Chapman Mill Pond Open Space (2.1 mi). 52% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #88 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
1,721 acres · of 15.8 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
95 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
167 ft
Toby Hill
Lakes & rivers
12
6 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Westbrook?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Westbrook have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Westbrook is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #88 of 155 in Connecticut. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Westbrook’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical CT town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · CT 1.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (95 acres) · CT 22 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home52% 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 79%
LessMore
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 44%
Connecticut towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Westbrook’s 17% is ahead of 56% of Connecticut towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% of them.
Water is 27% of Westbrook’s area (6 of 22 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 Cockaponset State Forest, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Horse Hill Woods Open Space
Managed by Town of Westbrook
230 acres4.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Chapman Mill Pond Open Space
Managed by Town of Westbrook
73 acres2.1 mi of trail
Chapman Mill Pond TrailRidge TrailDeer Run TrailDeer Run Trail Extension+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
354 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Timberlane Preserve
Managed by Westbrook Land Conservation Trust
42 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tom ODell Memorial Open Space
Managed by Town of Westbrook
7 acres0.4 mi of trail
Meadow Walk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fern Ledge
Managed by Essex Land Trust
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 19 parks & preserves
Cockaponset State Forest678 acres · 6.1 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsHorse Hill Woods Open Space230 acres · 4.7 mi of trail · Town of Westbrook
DirectionsChapman Mill Pond Open Space73 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Town of Westbrook
DirectionsStewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge354 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsTimberlane Preserve42 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Westbrook Land Conservation Trust
Tom ODell Memorial Open Space7 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Town of Westbrook
DirectionsFern Ledge5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Essex Land Trust
Menunketesuck Wildlife Management Area4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · State of Connecticut
Platt Preserve4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
The Preserve3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
DirectionsDaniel P. Wren Park17 acres
DirectionsWestbrook Town Beach6 acres
Town Open Space (Grove Beach Road, North)6 acres
Town Open Space (Mcveagh Road)3 acres
DirectionsThe Nature Conservancy Goodwin Marsh (Owned)2 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Town Open Space (West Pond Meadow Road)2 acres
Seaside Avenue Open Space1 acres · Town of Westbrook
Salt Island1 acres
Westbrook Town Green1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,721 conserved acres
17% of Westbrook’s land. Water is left out: Westbrook has 15.8 square miles of land and 5.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Westbrook’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service684 ac
State conservation78 ac
Town or city10 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Not recorded1,370 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 683 acState Resource Management Area · 482 acPrivate Conservation · 390 acState Conservation Area · 230 acLocal Other or Unknown · 191 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 105 of 111 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 683 | Restricted |
| Unknown State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 514 | Unknown |
| Cockaponset State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 434 | Unknown |
| Messerschmidt Pond Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 230 | Unknown |
| Daniel P. Wren Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 49 | Unknown |
| Cockaponset State Forest (Old Forest Management Area) State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 48 | Unknown |
| Gatchen Creek Water Access State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Town Of Westbrook (king) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Town Open Space (horse Hill Road) Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Town of Westbrook 1 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Westbrook
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Westbrook
Chapman Beach
DirectionsGrove Beach
DirectionsMiddle Beach
DirectionsQuotonset Beach
DirectionsStannard Beach
DirectionsWest BeachIn Seaside Avenue Open Space
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Westbrook
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Westbrook
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Westbrook
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Westbrook
Toby Hill167 ft elevation
DirectionsMurdock Hill115 ft elevation · In Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsMount Tom112 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Westbrook
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miHorses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 10.4 mi
Chapman Mill Pond Trail0.9 mi
Ridge Trail0.4 mi
Deer Run Trail0.4 mi
Deer Run Trail Extension0.2 mi
Entrance Trail0.2 mi
Meadow Walk0.1 mi
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
10Tennis
6Basketball
5Baseball
3Multi-sport
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Westbrook: 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 | 10.6 | 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 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 64 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Westbrook →
Next door
Westbrook and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Killingworth73 miOld Saybrook36 miDeep River35 miEssex34 miClinton26 miWestbrook24 miWestbrook Center1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westbrook | 17% | 1.5 | 14 | 52% | A− |
| Old Saybrook | 23% | 2.4 | 22 | 60% | A |
| Essex | 13% | 3.2 | 37 | 67% | A |
| Clinton | 12% | 1.6 | 16 | 50% | A− |
| Deep River | 23% | 2.6 | 8 | 43% | B+ |
| Westbrook Center | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Killingworth | 26% | 2.1 | 5 | 9% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Westbrook
Where can I hike in Westbrook?
The longest trail networks: Cockaponset State Forest, 6.1 miles; Horse Hill Woods Open Space, 4.7 miles; Chapman Mill Pond Open Space, 2.1 miles; Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Westbrook is conserved land?
17% 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 Westbrook’s trails?
Cockaponset State Forest and Horse Hill Woods Open Space don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Westbrook?
5,467 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Westbrook or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 95 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Westbrook have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #88 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 Westbrook 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 →