Town Forest
Nature preserve
123 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Acushnet
Acushnet has 896 acres of parks, 84 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Acushnet’s land is conserved, about 1,308 acres. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Acushnet, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #272 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,308 acres · of 18.4 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
896 ac
84 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
148 ft
Mendall Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
4 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Acushnet?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Acushnet have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Acushnet is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #272 of 283 in Massachusetts. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Acushnet’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land84 acres of park per 1,000 residents (896 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home73% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 4%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Acushnet’s 11% is ahead of 11% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 2% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kelleher Property
Nature preserve
73 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Acushnet River Valley
Nature preserve
48 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Quaker Wells
Nature preserve
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 15 parks & preserves
Town Forest123 acres
Kelleher Property73 acres
Acushnet River Valley48 acres
Quaker Wells42 acres
Acushnet River Wildlife Conservation Easement35 acres
Wheldon Woods32 acres
Pope Park25 acres
DirectionsCon Area Near River14 acres
Perkins Lane Cons. Area13 acres
Lantern Ln/Davis Park10 acres
Keith"S Tree Farm6 acres
Buttonwood Meadows4 acres
Wing Lane Woods3 acres
Con Comm Land Near Acushnet River3 acres
Mattapoisett Rd Conservation Area2 acres
Who protects it
1,308 conserved acres
11% of Acushnet’s land. Who manages Acushnet’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city441 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits321 ac
Other state land97 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)89 ac
Joint80 ac
State natural resources34 ac
State fish & wildlife34 ac
Conservation Easement · 551 acLocal Other or Unknown · 427 acPrivate Conservation · 275 acAgricultural Easement · 257 acLocal Resource Management Area · 151 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 364 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet River Valley Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 314 | Open |
| Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Girl Scouts Camp Private Conservation | Not recorded | 96 | Restricted |
| Kelleher Conservation Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 73 | Open |
| Acushnet Elementary And Ford Middle Schools Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 40 | Open |
| Wing Lane Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 34 | Closed |
| Tinkham Pond Woods Conservation Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 34 | Open |
| Nestles Lane Conservation Area Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Mattapoisett Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Open |
| Rivet Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 28 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Acushnet
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Acushnet
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Acushnet
Pope Park PlaygroundIn Pope Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Acushnet
Mendall Hill148 ft elevation
DirectionsBraley Hill144 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 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
5Baseball
4Tennis
3Soccer
2Basketball
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 Acushnet: 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) | 39 | 40 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
July is the driest month (3.2 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.4 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Acushnet →
Next door
Acushnet 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet | 11% | 0.2 | 84 | 73% | A− |
| Freetown | 19% | 2.2 | 145 | 60% | A |
| New Bedford | 19% | 0.5 | 22 | 92% | A |
| Acushnet Center | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fairhaven | 19% | 0.6 | 28 | 97% | A |
| Rochester | 25% | 0.8 | 434 | 68% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Acushnet
How much of Acushnet is conserved land?
11% of its land, against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Acushnet’s trails?
Town Forest and Kelleher Property don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Acushnet?
42,342 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Acushnet or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 990 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Acushnet have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #272 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 Acushnet 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 →