Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,522 acres7.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bernardston
Bernardston has 3,196 acres of parks, 1,477 for every 1,000 residents
27% of Bernardston’s land is conserved, about 4,065 acres. 40 miles of mapped trail cross Bernardston, 1.7 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area (7.1 mi), Charity Farm (1 mi), Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Conservation Easement (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
4,065 acres · of 23.4 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,196 ac
1,477 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,247 ft
Bald Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Bernardston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bernardston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bernardston is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bernardston’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land1,477 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,196 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home48% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Bernardston’s 27% is ahead of 66% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 39% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Satan's Kingdom WMA, with 7.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Charity Farm
Nature preserve
84 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Conservation Easement
Nature preserve
75 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
1,136 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Rest Area I-91 (North Bound)
Shattuck Brook Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
139 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area1,522 acres · 7.1 mi of trail
Charity Farm84 acres · 1 mi of trail
Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Conservation Easement75 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary1,136 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsShattuck Brook Wildlife Management Area139 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Cushman Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Darwin Scott Memorial Natural Heritage Area27 acres
Kiwanis Park10 acres
Keets Brook Road Conservation Area6 acres
Who protects it
4,065 conserved acres
27% of Bernardston’s land. Who manages Bernardston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,143 ac
State parks1,140 ac
State fish & wildlife732 ac
Other state land325 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)162 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits85 ac
State natural resources75 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,074 acConservation Easement · 1,702 acRecreation or Education Easement · 1,143 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 549 acAgricultural Easement · 486 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,504 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 73 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,910 | Open |
| Crumpin-Fox Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 470 | Restricted |
| Shattuck Brook Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 137 | Open |
| Charity Farm Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 84 | Open |
| Purple Meadow Campground Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Open |
| Darwin Scott Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 27 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Private Conservation | Not recorded | 16 | Restricted |
| Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Bernardston Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Unspecified Private Conservation | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Bernardston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bernardston
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Bernardston
Bald Mountain1,247 ft elevation
DirectionsPond Mountain1,230 ft elevation · In Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsWest Mountain1,201 ft elevation
DirectionsWildcat Mountain1,115 ft elevation
DirectionsEast Mountain1,112 ft elevation · In Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
DirectionsThe Pinnacle1,047 ft elevation · In Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
DirectionsSnow Hill597 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Bernardston
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 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
3Baseball
3Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bernardston: 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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bernardston →
Next door
Bernardston and its neighbors
Bernardston has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernardston | 27% | 1.7 | 1,477 | 48% | A |
| Leyden | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Greenfield | 20% | 1.7 | 59 | 93% | A+ |
| Gill | 23% | 2.0 | 296 | 49% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bernardston
Where can I hike in Bernardston?
The longest trail networks: Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area, 7.1 miles; Charity Farm, 1 miles; Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Conservation Easement, 0.9 miles; Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bernardston is conserved land?
27% 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 Bernardston’s trails?
Satan's Kingdom Wildlife Management Area and Charity Farm don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bernardston?
51,372 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bernardston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,261 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bernardston have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Bernardston 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 →