Catamount State Forest
Nature preserve
1,337 acres9.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: ToddC4176 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Colrain
Colrain has 3,394 acres of parks, 2,086 for every 1,000 residents
22% of Colrain’s land is conserved, about 6,146 acres. 34 miles of mapped trail cross Colrain, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Catamount State Forest (9.5 mi), Catamount Wildlife Management Area (5.4 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
6,146 acres · of 43.1 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,394 ac
2,086 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,795 ft
Phillips Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Colrain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colrain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colrain is ahead of 86% 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 Colrain’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2,086 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,394 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home34% 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 86%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Colrain’s 22% is ahead of 53% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Catamount State Forest, with 9.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Catamount Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
495 acres5.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
H.O. Cook State Forest
Nature preserve
939 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Green River Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
547 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Catamount State Forest1,337 acres · 9.5 mi of trail
Catamount Wildlife Management Area495 acres · 5.4 mi of trail
H.O. Cook State Forest939 acres
Green River Wildlife Management Area547 acres
DirectionsColrain Fire District53 acres
Who protects it
6,146 conserved acres
22% of Colrain’s land. Who manages Colrain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land3,797 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits779 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)417 ac
Private owners179 ac
Town or city41 ac
Not recorded3,723 ac
Agricultural Easement · 4,427 acState Resource Management Area · 2,244 acState Conservation Area · 967 acConservation Easement · 565 acWatershed Protection Area · 374 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,381 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 151 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catamount State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,332 | Open |
| H.O. Cook State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 912 | Open |
| Green River Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 507 | Open |
| Catamount Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 460 | Open |
| Shelburne Falls Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 298 | Unknown |
| Leyden Woods Private Conservation | Private owners | 179 | Open |
| Colrain Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 102 | Closed |
| Pitt House Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Town Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Griswoldville Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
20 places to go in Colrain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Colrain
Phillips Hill1,795 ft elevation
DirectionsSpruce Hill1,739 ft elevation
DirectionsChristian Hill1,719 ft elevation
DirectionsStone Mountain1,677 ft elevation
DirectionsWilson Hill1,522 ft elevation
DirectionsFairbanks Hill1,476 ft elevation
DirectionsHoughton Hill1,388 ft elevation · In Catamount Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsMount Hope1,385 ft elevation
Directions12 more peaks
Bald Hill1,286 ft elevation
DirectionsFranklin Hill1,247 ft elevation
DirectionsColrain Mountain1,227 ft elevation
DirectionsAvery Hill1,207 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Hill1,201 ft elevation · In Catamount State Forest
DirectionsBarber Hill1,194 ft elevation
DirectionsChandler Hill1,178 ft elevation
DirectionsTaggard Hill1,175 ft elevation
DirectionsColwell Hill1,171 ft elevation
DirectionsEverett Hill1,086 ft elevation
DirectionsAunt Sophies Peak1,040 ft elevation
DirectionsCopeland Hill909 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 lakes & rivers
History along the way
History →2 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 Colrain: 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 | 35 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Colrain →
Next door
Colrain and its neighbors
Colrain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colrain | 22% | 0.8 | 2,086 | 34% | A |
| Leyden | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Heath | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Charlemont | 23% | 1.6 | 137 | 24% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Colrain
Where can I hike in Colrain?
The longest trail networks: Catamount State Forest, 9.5 miles; Catamount Wildlife Management Area, 5.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colrain is conserved land?
22% 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 Colrain’s trails?
Catamount State Forest and Catamount Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Colrain?
44,235 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colrain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,438 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colrain have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Colrain 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 →