Worcester Flood Diversion Channel
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Pakachoag Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Auburn
11% of Auburn’s land is conserved: 1,040 acres
The biggest trail networks: Worcester Flood Diversion Channel (0.5 mi). 89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 388 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #267 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,040 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
388 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
Highest peak
853 ft
Crowl Hill
Lakes & rivers
11
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Auburn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Auburn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Auburn is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #267 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Auburn’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4BPark land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (388 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home89% 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 82%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 6%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Auburn’s 11% is ahead of 9% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 7% of them.
Water is 6% of Auburn’s area (1 of 16 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 Worcester Flood Diversion Channel, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gilbert/Stockwell Property
Nature preserve
80 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Granger Woods
Nature preserve
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Worcester Flood Diversion Channel31 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsGoddard Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans' Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGilbert/Stockwell Property80 acres
Granger Woods30 acres
Conservation Area13 acres
Conservation Land9 acres
Rockland Rd Conservation Land6 acres
Arnold Greene Property6 acres
DirectionsRotary Beach4 acres
Leesville Pond2 acres
Prospect Parkway Field1 acres
Who protects it
1,040 conserved acres
11% of Auburn’s land. Water is left out: Auburn has 15.5 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Auburn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city228 ac
State parks5 ac
Not recorded806 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 422 acWatershed Protection Area · 330 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 112 acLocal Conservation Area · 40 acPrivate Conservation · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Brook Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 145 | Open |
| Gilbert/Stockwell Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 76 | Open |
| Auburn Sportsmans Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 73 | Restricted |
| Water District Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 66 | Unknown |
| Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 60 | Open |
| Eddy Pond Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 60 | Open |
| Water Supply Protection Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 58 | Unknown |
| Old Landfill Site Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 57 | Closed |
| Pakachoag Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 54 | Restricted |
| Granger Ledges Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 42 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Auburn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Auburn
Franklin Field Playground
DirectionsRocketland Playground
DirectionsPlus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Auburn
Auburn Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Auburn
Eddy Pond Boat Ramp
DirectionsPeaks in Auburn
Crowl Hill853 ft elevation
DirectionsDead Horse Hill830 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill738 ft elevation
DirectionsTinker Hill712 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Pakachoag Hiking Trail0.8 mi
Webster Branch Trail0.5 mi
Overgrown Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
9Tennis
3Soccer
3Basketball
2Softball
2Football
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Auburn: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Auburn →
Next door
Auburn and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Auburn
Where can I hike in Auburn?
The longest trail networks: Worcester Flood Diversion Channel, 0.5 miles; Goddard Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Auburn 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 Auburn’s trails?
Worcester Flood Diversion Channel and Goddard Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Auburn?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Auburn?
31,789 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Auburn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 545 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Auburn have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #267 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 Auburn 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 →