Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.035% of Amherst Town’s land is conserved, about 6,271 acres. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3,636 acres are parks and preserves, 95 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #23 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Amherst Town is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #23 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs put Amherst Town near the top nationally; trail miles rank highest.
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Amherst Town’s 35% is ahead of 82% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 89% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Mount Holyoke Range State Park, with 11.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
35% of Amherst Town’s land. Who manages Amherst Town’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,731 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 365 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Holyoke Range State Park State Park | Not recorded | 971 | Open |
| Lawrence Swamp Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 427 | Open |
| Hickory Ridge Golf Course Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 148 | Open |
| Water Department Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 141 | Open |
| Amherst Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 103 | Unknown |
| Brickyard Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 89 | Open |
| Wildwood Cemetery Private Historic or Cultural | Not recorded | 75 | Open |
| Cherry Hill Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 67 | Open |
| Amherst Water Supply Area Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 65 | Unknown |
| Wellfields Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 62 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 2 scenic views without a name on the map.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 11 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
3 more on the History page.
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 83 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Amherst Town →
Amherst Town has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst Town | 35% | 4.0 | 95 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Granby | 26% | 2.4 | 531 | 61% | A+ |
| Hadley | 42% | 2.6 | 354 | 65% | A+ |
| Pelham | 61% | 2.9 | 1,542 | 89% | A+ |
| South Hadley | 31% | 3.3 | 168 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Leverett | 37% | 2.9 | 751 | 88% | A+ |
| Shutesbury | 60% | 2.7 | 952 | 63% | A+ |
| Belchertown | 24% | 1.8 | 185 | 67% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Mount Holyoke Range State Park, 11.6 miles; UMass Orchards, 4.5 miles; Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, 3.1 miles; Water Supply Land, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
35% 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.
Mount Holyoke Range State Park and UMass Orchards don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
8.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of painted or protected lanes, 6.4 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
57,879 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Amherst Town or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,041 of them inside the city line.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Amherst Town neighbors.
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 →