Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
984 acres5.2 mi of trail
Overgrown Orange Blazed Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brookfield
Brookfield has 2,691 acres of parks, 778 for every 1,000 residents
35% of Brookfield’s land is conserved, about 3,467 acres. The biggest trail networks: Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area (5.2 mi), Richardson Wildlife Management Area (2.5 mi), Quaboag Wildlife Management Area (2.3 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Brookfield, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #157 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
35%
3,467 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,691 ac
778 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
965 ft
Cooley Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Brookfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brookfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brookfield is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #157 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brookfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land35% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land778 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,691 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home83% 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 96%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 45%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Brookfield’s 35% is ahead of 81% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 11% of them.
Water is 6% of Brookfield’s area (1 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 33%.
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 Wolf Swamp WMA, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Richardson Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
393 acres2.5 mi of trail
Military Highway 1673Travis Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Quaboag Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,064 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Quaboag Plantation
Nature preserve
13 acres0.4 mi of trail
Quaboag Plantation Pathway
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
All 8 parks & preserves
Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area984 acres · 5.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRichardson Wildlife Management Area393 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
DirectionsQuaboag Wildlife Management Area1,064 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsQuaboag Plantation13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsQuacumquasit Wildlife Management Area212 acres
DirectionsLewis Field11 acres · Town of Brookfield Recreation Department
DirectionsBrookfield Town Common2 acres
DirectionsMill-Station Park1 acres · Town of Brookfield
DirectionsWho protects it
3,467 conserved acres
35% of Brookfield’s land. Water is left out: Brookfield has 15.5 square miles of land and 1.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Brookfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land1,066 ac
State fish & wildlife261 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits218 ac
Town or city64 ac
Not recorded2,737 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,655 acAgricultural Easement · 1,066 acConservation Easement · 268 acState Resource Management Area · 219 acResearch or Educational Area · 58 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 668 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,204 | Open |
| Quaboag Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,066 | Open |
| Richardson Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 392 | Open |
| Quacumquasit Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 212 | Open |
| Brookfield Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 56 | Open |
| Tantasqua Regional Vocational High School Athletic Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 40 | Open |
| Brookfield Elementary School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 18 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Brookfield Rod and Gun Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Restricted |
| Bannister Common Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Brookfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Brookfield
South Pond BeachIn Quacumquasit Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsSwimming spots in Brookfield
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Brookfield
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Brookfield
Quaboag Pond Boat Ramp
DirectionsQuacumquasit Pond Boat RampIn Quacumquasit Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsWhite's Landing
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Brookfield
Cooley Hill965 ft elevation
DirectionsMitchell Hill801 ft elevation
DirectionsBlanchard Hill794 ft elevation
DirectionsBlanchard Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Military Highway 16730.5 mi
Quaboag Plantation Pathway0.4 mi
Overgrown Orange Blazed Trail0.4 mi
Travis Trail0.3 mi
Lakeside Circle0.1 mi
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
3Soccer
2Baseball
2Basketball
1Field hockey
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Brookfield: 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 | 76 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Brookfield →
Next door
Brookfield and its neighbors
Brookfield has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | 35% | 0.8 | 778 | 83% | A+ |
| East Brookfield | 26% | 0.7 | 610 | 84% | A |
| West Brookfield | 24% | 0.4 | 500 | 66% | A |
| North Brookfield | 16% | 0.2 | 203 | 77% | A− |
| Sturbridge | 29% | 2.2 | 520 | 76% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brookfield
Where can I hike in Brookfield?
The longest trail networks: Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area, 5.2 miles; Richardson Wildlife Management Area, 2.5 miles; Quaboag Wildlife Management Area, 2.3 miles; Quaboag Plantation, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brookfield is conserved land?
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.
Are dogs allowed on Brookfield’s trails?
Wolf Swamp Wildlife Management Area and Richardson Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brookfield?
38,373 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brookfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,697 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brookfield have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #157 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 Brookfield 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 →