Wachusett Reservoir Watershed
Managed by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
4,230 acres17 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
John B. Gough House · Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Boylston
40% of Boylston’s land is conserved: 4,072 acres
40 miles of mapped trail cross Boylston, 2.5 per square mile of land. 618 acres are parks and preserves, 125 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Wachusett Reservoir Watershed (17 mi), Tower Hill Botanic Garden (5 mi), Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #195 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
4,072 acres · of 16.1 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
2.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
618 ac
125 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
673 ft
Longley Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Boylston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Boylston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Boylston is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #195 of 283 in Massachusetts. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Boylston’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land125 acres of park per 1,000 residents (618 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home44% 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 93%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 31%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Boylston’s 40% is ahead of 90% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% of them.
Water is 19% of Boylston’s area (4 of 20 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 32%.
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 Wachusett Reservoir Watershed, with 17 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Nature preserve
174 acres5 mi of trail
Loop TrailNorth Woods TrailSummit TrailPliny's Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Summer Star
46 acres1.4 mi of trail
Mountain Laurel Trail (blue blaze)Beaver Pond Trail (blue blaze)Witch Hazel Trail (blue blaze)Easy Trail+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
East Woods
Managed by Town of Boylston Conservation Commission
218 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wrack Meadow
Managed by Sudbury Valley Trustees
51 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Wachusett Reservoir Watershed4,230 acres · 17 mi of trail · Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
DirectionsTower Hill Botanic Garden174 acres · 5 mi of trail
DirectionsSummer Star Wildlife Sanctuary46 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Summer Star
DirectionsEast Woods218 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Town of Boylston Conservation Commission
Wrack Meadow51 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Sudbury Valley Trustees
DirectionsMile Hill Woods30 acres
Falby Memorial Forest6 acres
Fawcett Memorial Forest6 acres
Ball Hill Road Conservation Area2 acres · Town of Berlin
DirectionsTown Tennis Courts1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
4,072 conserved acres
40% of Boylston’s land. Water is left out: Boylston has 16.1 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Boylston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation377 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits330 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government75 ac
Other state land34 ac
Joint15 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)15 ac
Town or city10 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 2,988 acConservation Easement · 474 acLocal Other or Unknown · 327 acPrivate Conservation · 324 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 225 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 358 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 91 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wachusett Reservoir Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 2,713 | Restricted |
| East Woods Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 247 | Open |
| Mt Pleasant Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 201 | Restricted |
| Tower Hill Private Conservation | Not recorded | 140 | Restricted |
| DCR - Division of Water Supply Protection 29 Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 123 | Closed |
| Mile Hill Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 76 | Open |
| Wrack Meadow Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 64 | Open |
| Sydow Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 46 | Open |
| Wachusett Watershed Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 36 | Closed |
| White Watershed Preservation Restriction Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 34 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Boylston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Boylston
Manor Playground
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Boylston
Belvedere OverlookIn Tower Hill Botanic Garden
DirectionsTower Hill SummitIn Tower Hill Botanic Garden
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Boylston
Longley Hill673 ft elevation
DirectionsApron Hill627 ft elevation · In Wachusett Reservoir Watershed
DirectionsDiamond Hill623 ft elevation
DirectionsTower Hill600 ft elevation · In Tower Hill Botanic Garden
DirectionsGreen Hill574 ft elevation
DirectionsStiles Hill574 ft elevation
DirectionsLarkin Hill571 ft elevation
DirectionsBarnard Hill564 ft elevation
Directions4 more peaks
Faggot Hill548 ft elevation
DirectionsRattlesnake Hill548 ft elevation
DirectionsKendall Hill531 ft elevation
DirectionsPulpit Hill509 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Boylston
Hillside Park Disc Golf
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.5 mi
Loop Trail0.7 mi
Mountain Laurel Trail (blue blaze)0.5 mi
North Woods Trail0.4 mi
Pine Hill Loop0.3 mi
Summit Trail0.3 mi
Beaver Pond Trail (blue blaze)0.2 mi
Witch Hazel Trail (blue blaze)0.2 mi
Easy Trail0.2 mi
Access path0.1 mi
Wrack Meadow Brook Trail (blue blaze)0.1 mi
1 more trails
Stone Fence Walk
0.1 miLakes & 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
3Basketball
3Tennis
2Soccer
2Pickleball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Boylston: 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) | 35 | 37 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Boylston →
Next door
Boylston and its neighbors
Boylston has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boylston | 40% | 2.5 | 125 | 44% | A |
| Shrewsbury | 8% | 1.7 | 18 | 86% | A |
| West Boylston | 44% | 0.9 | 7 | 54% | B+ |
| Clinton | 19% | 1.8 | 9 | 99% | A |
| Northborough | 23% | 2.3 | 102 | 92% | A+ |
| Berlin | 29% | 2.7 | 368 | 97% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Boylston
Where can I hike in Boylston?
The longest trail networks: Wachusett Reservoir Watershed, 17 miles; Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 5 miles; Summer Star Wildlife Sanctuary, 1.4 miles; East Woods, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Boylston is conserved land?
40% 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 Boylston’s trails?
Wachusett Reservoir Watershed and Tower Hill Botanic Garden don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Boylston?
38,452 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Boylston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 663 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Boylston have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #195 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 Boylston 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 →