Quinebaug Woods
Managed by Trustees
43 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Holland
Holland has 1,827 acres of parks, 707 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Holland’s land is conserved, about 1,664 acres. The biggest trail networks: Quinebaug Woods (1.3 mi), Leadmine Wildlife Management Area (1.2 mi). 9.3 miles of mapped trail cross Holland, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #188 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
1,664 acres · of 12.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.3 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,827 ac
707 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,099 ft
Rattlesnake Mountain
Lakes & rivers
3
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Holland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Holland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Holland is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #188 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 Holland’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land707 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,827 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home77% 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 94%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 34%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Holland’s 21% is ahead of 51% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 11% of them.
Water is 6% of Holland’s area (1 of 13 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
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 Quinebaug Woods, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Leadmine Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
316 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
729 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,664 conserved acres
21% of Holland’s land. Water is left out: Holland has 12.3 square miles of land and 0.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Holland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded1,665 ac
Private Conservation · 1,069 acState Conservation Area · 330 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 250 acLocal Other or Unknown · 15 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 952 | Open |
| Leadmine Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 330 | Open |
| Palmer Beagle Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 203 | Restricted |
| Springfield Girls Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 84 | Restricted |
| Holland Rod and Gun Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 47 | Restricted |
| Quinebaug Woods Private Conservation | Not recorded | 31 | Open |
| Holmes Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| May Brook Conservation Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Holland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Holland
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Holland
Holland Elementary School Playground
DirectionsBoat launches in Holland
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Holland
Rattlesnake Mountain1,099 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 4.6 mi
Butterworth Extension0.7 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
2Baseball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Soccer
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Holland: 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 57 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 49 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Holland →
Next door
Holland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holland | 21% | 0.8 | 707 | 77% | A |
| Wales | 47% | 1.3 | 1,788 | 98% | A+ |
| Brimfield | 14% | 0.8 | 299 | 46% | 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 Holland
Where can I hike in Holland?
The longest trail networks: Quinebaug Woods, 1.3 miles; Leadmine Wildlife Management Area, 1.2 miles; Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Holland is conserved land?
21% 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 Holland’s trails?
Quinebaug Woods and Leadmine Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Holland?
27,997 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Holland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,827 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Holland have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #188 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 Holland 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 →