Winsegansett Marshes
Nature preserve
157 acres0.8 mi of trail
Winsegansett Marsh Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fort Phoenix · Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Fairhaven
19% of Fairhaven’s land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
19% of Fairhaven’s land is conserved, about 1,500 acres. The biggest trail networks: Winsegansett Marshes (0.8 mi). 448 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #217 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
1,500 acres · of 12.4 sq mi of land
Trails
6.9 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
448 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
4.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
46 beaches · 5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Fairhaven?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fairhaven have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fairhaven is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #217 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 Fairhaven’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (448 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 23%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Fairhaven’s 19% is ahead of 40% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 8% of them.
Water is 13% of Fairhaven’s area (2 of 14 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
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 Winsegansett Marshes, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation
Nature preserve
17 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nulands Neck
Nature preserve
91 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Little Bay Conservation Area
Nature preserve
78 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 47 parks & preserves
Winsegansett Marshes157 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation17 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsNulands Neck91 acres
Little Bay Conservation Area78 acres
DirectionsFairhaven Town Forest51 acres
Viveiros Farm51 acres
Shipyard Farm47 acres
Turkey Grove21 acres
Shaws Cove20 acres
Bass Cove18 acres
New Boston Road17 acres
South Shore Salt Marsh Wildlife Management Area17 acres
Edgewater Conservation Area16 acres
Nasketucket Bay State Reservation15 acres
Cushman Park14 acres
DirectionsRoute 613 acres
Pine Grove12 acres
Kempton Meadows12 acres
Livesey Park11 acres
DirectionsSycamore St Marshland11 acres
Town Watershed Protection10 acres
Nasketucket Creek8 acres
Nasketucket Creek (Shawmut St)7 acres
Little Bay Marsh6 acres
Mononadach Marsh6 acres
Macomber Pimental Park5 acres
Winsegansett Avenue Scenic Vista5 acres
Girls Creek, Boys Creek4 acres
Deacons Cove4 acres
Pope"S Beach Cr3 acres
Round Island3 acres
Girls Creek2 acres
Rogers School2 acres
DirectionsFort Phoenix2 acres
DirectionsBoys Creek2 acres
Westgate Ave2 acres
Smith Street And Marion Street1 acres
Pope"S Beach1 acres
Bonny Street East1 acres
Nasketucket Creek (Weeden Rd)1 acres
Knollmere Beach1 acres
Highland Street1 acres
Washburn Ave And Cove1 acres
Hacker Street1 acres
Cottonwood Street1 acres
Priests Cove1 acres
Cove Street Scenic Vista1 acres
Who protects it
1,500 conserved acres
19% of Fairhaven’s land. Water is left out: Fairhaven has 12.4 square miles of land and 1.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fairhaven’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits811 ac
Town or city458 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)183 ac
Other state land142 ac
Joint41 ac
State fish & wildlife17 ac
Private owners3 ac
Conservation Easement · 922 acAgricultural Easement · 382 acPrivate Conservation · 358 acLocal Other or Unknown · 331 acWatershed Protection Area · 59 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 558 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 23 of 131 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winsegansett Marshes Conservation Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 88 | Restricted |
| Little Bay Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Winsegansett Marshes Private Conservation | Not recorded | 69 | Restricted |
| New Boston Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 56 | Open |
| Fairhaven Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| Town of Fairhaven Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| Dana Pond Watershed Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Mariner Soccer Complex Private Conservation | Not recorded | 40 | Restricted |
| Fort Phoenix State Reservation State Park | Not recorded | 33 | Open |
| West Island Town Beach Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 27 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
58 places to go in Fairhaven
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Fairhaven
46 beaches are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Playgrounds in Fairhaven
Wood School Playground
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fairhaven
5 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
Winsegansett Marsh Trail0.8 mi
Dike0.6 mi
Marsh Island0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.1 mi
off-road bike paths
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Baseball
12Tennis
8Basketball
7Soccer
2Football
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fort PhoenixStructure · listed 1972
About itEzekiel Sawin HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itFairhaven High School and AcademyBuilding · listed 1981
About itFairhaven Town HallBuilding · listed 1981
About itMillicent LibraryBuilding · listed 1986
About itUnitarian Memorial ChurchBuilding · listed 1996
About itOxford SchoolBuilding · listed 2023
About itRogers Grammar SchoolBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fairhaven: 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 40 | 47 | 56 | 66 | 76 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
July is the driest month (3.2 in) and the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.3 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Fairhaven →
Next door
Fairhaven and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhaven | 19% | 0.6 | 28 | 97% | A |
| New Bedford | 19% | 0.5 | 22 | 92% | A |
| Mattapoisett | 38% | 1.1 | 397 | 98% | A+ |
| Acushnet | 11% | 0.2 | 84 | 73% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fairhaven
Where can I hike in Fairhaven?
The longest trail networks: Winsegansett Marshes, 0.8 miles; Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fairhaven is conserved land?
19% 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 Fairhaven’s trails?
Winsegansett Marshes and Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fairhaven?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.1 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Fairhaven?
34,004 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fairhaven or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 658 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fairhaven have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #217 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 Fairhaven 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 →