Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,221 acres19.8 mi of trail
Carwash-ChamoisKoalaPhased and ConfusedAgnes, Agatha, Jermaine, and Jack+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ludlow
24% of Ludlow’s land is conserved: 4,092 acres
44 miles of mapped trail cross Ludlow, 1.6 per square mile of land. 2,158 acres are parks and preserves, 103 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area (19.8 mi), Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement (5.3 mi), Town Forest (2.7 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #164 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
4,092 acres · of 27.2 sq mi of land
Trails
44 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,158 ac
103 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
Highest peak
712 ft
Minechoag Mountain
Lakes & rivers
16
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Ludlow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ludlow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ludlow is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #164 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ludlow’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (44 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land103 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,158 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks 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 95%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 42%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Ludlow’s 24% is ahead of 57% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% of them.
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 Facing Rock WMA, with 19.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement
Nature preserve
1,823 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Town Forest
Nature preserve
112 acres2.7 mi of trail
KoalaInferno
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Red Bridge State Park
Nature preserve
77 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area1,221 acres · 19.8 mi of trail
DirectionsLudlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement1,823 acres · 5.3 mi of trail
DirectionsTown Forest112 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
Red Bridge State Park77 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLibrary Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWestover Conservation Area309 acres
DirectionsLane Property45 acres
DirectionsWhitney St. Park11 acres
DirectionsMemorial Park2 acres
DirectionsElectric Park Playground1 acres
Who protects it
4,092 conserved acres
24% of Ludlow’s land. Who manages Ludlow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife2,933 ac
State natural resources1,783 ac
Town or city198 ac
State parks49 ac
Other state land1 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1 ac
Not recorded924 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,579 acState Conservation Area · 1,223 acLocal Other or Unknown · 309 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 297 acLocal Conservation Area · 142 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,788 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 66 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,223 | Restricted |
| Ludlow Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 195 | Restricted |
| Westover Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 159 | Open |
| Town Forest Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 95 | Unknown |
| Ludlow Fish and Game Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 84 | Restricted |
| Red Bridge State Park State Park | Not recorded | 58 | Open |
| Ludlow Senior High School Athletic Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 50 | Open |
| Ludlow State Forest State Resource Management Area | State parks | 48 | Open |
| Lane Property Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Chicopee Municipal Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Ludlow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ludlow
Haviland Pond Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ludlow
West Street Playground
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Ludlow
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Ludlow
Minechoag Mountain712 ft elevation
DirectionsRock Rimmon656 ft elevation · In Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement
DirectionsFacing Rock650 ft elevation · In Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsHigh Hill643 ft elevation · In Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement
DirectionsJefferson Peak449 ft elevation · In Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 16 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.4 miUnpaved · 3.9 mi
Koala1.5 mi
Carwash-Chamois1.3 mi
Phased and Confused1.0 mi
Inferno0.6 mi
Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine, and Jack0.5 mi
Working Man's Trail0.4 mi
Backdrop0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Alden PondreservoirBody of WaterChicopee River ReservoirreservoirGamache PondpondHarris PondreservoirHaviland PondpondLudlow ReservoirreservoirMinechoag PondpondMurphy PondpondNash Hill ReservoirreservoirPickerel PondpondReynolds PondreservoirSecond PondpondWade PondreservoirWood PondpondChicopee River
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
10Tennis
9Soccer
4Basketball
1Football
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ludlow: April 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ludlow →
Next door
Ludlow 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludlow | 24% | 1.6 | 103 | 77% | A+ |
| Wilbraham | 17% | 1.8 | 132 | 98% | A+ |
| Springfield | 15% | 0.6 | 18 | 99%+ | A |
| Chicopee | 4% | 1.7 | 14 | 90% | A− |
| Granby | 26% | 2.4 | 531 | 61% | A+ |
| Belchertown | 24% | 1.8 | 185 | 67% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ludlow
Where can I hike in Ludlow?
The longest trail networks: Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area, 19.8 miles; Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement, 5.3 miles; Town Forest, 2.7 miles; Red Bridge State Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ludlow 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 Ludlow’s trails?
Facing Rock Wildlife Management Area and Ludlow Reservoir Wildlife Conservation Easement don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ludlow?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ludlow?
46,759 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ludlow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,946 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ludlow have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #164 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 Ludlow 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 →