Hoag Woods
Managed by Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust
15 acres0.7 mi of trail
Hoag's Woodsy WalkHoag Cross Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Medway
Medway has 10 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Hoag Woods (0.7 mi), Idylbrook Conservation Land (0.6 mi), Choate Park (0.6 mi). 90% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8% of Medway’s land is conserved, about 578 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #257 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
578 acres · of 11.5 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
283 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
90%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Medway?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Medway have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Medway is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #257 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Medway’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (283 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home90% 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 84%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 9%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Medway’s 8% is ahead of 4% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% 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 Hoag Woods, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Idylbrook Conservation Land
Nature preserve
30 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Choate Park West
Nature preserve
31 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Hoag Woods15 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust
DirectionsIdylbrook Conservation Land30 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsChoate Park22 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsChoate Park West31 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsOakland Street Park16 acres
Vfw Field13 acres
Idylbrook Park10 acres
DirectionsConservation Land4 acres
North St Playground1 acres
Village Street Park1 acres
Who protects it
578 conserved acres
8% of Medway’s land. Who manages Medway’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city145 ac
Not recorded444 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 204 acResearch or Educational Area · 92 acConservation Easement · 68 acLocal Park · 56 acLocal Conservation Area · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 68 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 49 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Medway Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 60 | Closed |
| Oakland Street Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 36 | Open |
| Choate Park West Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Open |
| Medway High School Athletic Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 32 | Open |
| Idylbrook Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 31 | Restricted |
| Medway Jr/Sr High School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 29 | Open |
| Iarussi Way Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 24 | Open |
| Choate Park Local Park | Not recorded | 23 | Open |
| Town Well Site Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 20 | Closed |
| Unknown Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Medway
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Medway
Partridge St Playground
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 3.2 mi
Hoag's Woodsy Walk0.5 mi
Hoag Cross Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
11Baseball
11Tennis
5Pickleball
5Basketball
5Soccer
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Medway: 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) | 36 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Medway →
Next door
Medway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medway | 8% | 0.9 | 21 | 90% | A− |
| Franklin Town | 15% | 1.9 | 38 | 93% | A+ |
| Bellingham | 11% | 0.8 | 33 | 77% | A |
| Norfolk | 16% | 1.6 | 48 | 80% | A |
| Holliston | 24% | 2.6 | 120 | 98% | A+ |
| Millis | 24% | 1.3 | 162 | 96% | A+ |
| Milford | 11% | 2.3 | 16 | 86% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Medway
Where can I hike in Medway?
The longest trail networks: Hoag Woods, 0.7 miles; Idylbrook Conservation Land, 0.6 miles; Choate Park, 0.6 miles; Choate Park West, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Medway is conserved land?
8% 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 Medway’s trails?
Hoag Woods and Idylbrook Conservation Land don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Medway?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Medway?
47,156 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Medway or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 283 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Medway have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #257 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 Medway 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 →