Connecticut River Greenway State Park
Nature preserve
464 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Denimadept · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gill
Gill has 515 acres of parks, 296 for every 1,000 residents
27 miles of mapped trail cross Gill, 2.0 per square mile of land. 23% of Gill’s land is conserved, about 2,065 acres. The biggest trail networks: Connecticut River Greenway State Park (2.1 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
2,065 acres · of 13.8 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
515 ac
296 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
2.6 mi lanes
Highest peak
820 ft
Pisgah Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Gill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gill is ahead of 93% 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 Gill’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land296 acres of park per 1,000 residents (515 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home49% 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 conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Gill’s 23% is ahead of 57% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
Water is 7% of Gill’s area (1 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
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 Connecticut River Greenway State Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Seventeen Acre Woodlot
Nature preserve
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,065 conserved acres
23% of Gill’s land. Water is left out: Gill has 13.8 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land950 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits629 ac
State conservation619 ac
State parks533 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)410 ac
Joint97 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government70 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,656 acConservation Easement · 903 acRecreation or Education Easement · 600 acState Park · 259 acPrivate Conservation · 167 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,496 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 108 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut River Greenway State Park State Park | Not recorded | 259 | Open |
| Stacy Mountain Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 160 | Restricted |
| Barton Cove Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 101 | Unknown |
| Boyle Road Elementary School Playground Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| Barton Island State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| Connecticut River Conservancy Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 7 | Closed |
| Gill Nature Study Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| N/A Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Closed |
| Gill Boat Launch State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 4 | Open |
| Gill Recreational Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Gill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Gill
Gill Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Gill
Pisgah Mountain820 ft elevation
DirectionsDarby Hill732 ft elevation
DirectionsMason Hill650 ft elevation
DirectionsBarnard Hill479 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Hermon479 ft elevation
DirectionsGrassy Hill436 ft elevation
DirectionsStump Hill400 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Gill
Barton CoveFee · FirstLight Power
DirectionsDisc golf in Gill
Oak Ridge Disc Golf Club
DirectionsTrails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
2Baseball
2Multi-sport
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 Gill: 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) | 33 | 37 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Gill →
Next door
Gill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gill | 23% | 2.0 | 296 | 49% | A |
| Greenfield | 20% | 1.7 | 59 | 93% | A+ |
| Northfield | 31% | 2.0 | 587 | 30% | A |
| Montague | 43% | 2.3 | 782 | 79% | A+ |
| Turners Falls | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Erving | 35% | 2.5 | 264 | 87% | A+ |
| Bernardston | 27% | 1.7 | 1,477 | 48% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gill
Where can I hike in Gill?
The longest trail networks: Connecticut River Greenway State Park, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gill is conserved land?
23% 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 Gill’s trails?
Connecticut River Greenway State Park and Seventeen Acre Woodlot don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gill?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Gill?
53,811 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 691 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gill have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Gill 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 →