Freetown-Fall River State Forest
Managed by Division of State Parks and Recreation
586 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lakeville
24% of Lakeville’s land is conserved: 4,560 acres
34 miles of mapped trail cross Lakeville, 1.2 per square mile of land. 713 acres are parks and preserves, 60 per 1,000 residents. 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #243 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
4,560 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
713 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
210 ft
Tinkham Hill
Lakes & rivers
15
What kind of outdoors town is Lakeville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lakeville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lakeville is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #243 of 283 in Massachusetts. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lakeville’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (713 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home46% 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 87%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 14%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Lakeville’s 24% is ahead of 60% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 24% of them.
Water is 18% of Lakeville’s area (7 of 36 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 Freetown-Fall River State Forest, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Assonet Cedar Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
936 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Clear Pond Park
Park
69 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Long Pond Conservation Area
Nature preserve
49 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Freetown-Fall River State Forest586 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Division of State Parks and Recreation
Assonet Cedar Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary936 acres
Clear Pond Park69 acres
Long Pond Conservation Area49 acres
John Paun Memorial Park10 acres
Town Land5 acres
Tamarack Park5 acres
Who protects it
4,560 conserved acres
24% of Lakeville’s land. Water is left out: Lakeville has 29.6 square miles of land and 6.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lakeville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources636 ac
State fish & wildlife598 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits596 ac
Other state land538 ac
Joint478 ac
State parks441 ac
Town or city203 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,651 acPrivate Conservation · 994 acState Resource Management Area · 611 acAgricultural Easement · 538 acWatershed Protection Area · 500 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,653 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 105 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Cedar Swamp Private Conservation | Not recorded | 879 | Unknown |
| Freetown-Fall River State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 611 | Open |
| Elders Pond Water Supply Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 261 | Closed |
| City of Taunton Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 167 | Closed |
| Lakeville Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 164 | Open |
| Poquoy Brook Golf Course Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 137 | Restricted |
| Apponquet Regional High School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 94 | Open |
| Audubon Park Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 70 | Open |
| Little Cedar Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 65 | Closed |
| Heritage Hill Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 57 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Lakeville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lakeville
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Lakeville
Tinkham Hill210 ft elevation
DirectionsShockley Hill184 ft elevation
DirectionsWilliams Hill144 ft elevation
DirectionsPickens Hill131 ft elevation
DirectionsAlden Hill108 ft elevation
DirectionsBurial Hill85 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.1 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
John J. DiCarlo Memorial Fitness Trail0.8 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
14Tennis
6Baseball
6Pickleball
3Soccer
3Softball
1Volleyball
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Town HallBuilding · listed 1976
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lakeville: 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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 40 | 47 | 58 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
July is the driest month (3.3 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.4 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Lakeville →
Next door
Lakeville and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Middleborough98 miFreetown74 miTaunton72 miLakeville34 miNorth Lakeville5.8 miMiddleborough Center0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeville | 24% | 1.2 | 60 | 46% | A |
| Middleborough | 21% | 1.4 | 267 | 64% | A |
| North Lakeville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Taunton | 15% | 1.5 | 59 | 71% | A |
| Freetown | 19% | 2.2 | 145 | 60% | A |
| Middleborough Center | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lakeville
Where can I hike in Lakeville?
The longest trail networks: Freetown-Fall River State Forest, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lakeville is conserved land?
24% 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 Lakeville’s trails?
Freetown-Fall River State Forest and Assonet Cedar Swamp Wildlife Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lakeville?
54,473 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lakeville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,359 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lakeville have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #243 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 Lakeville 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 →