Quabbin Reservoir Reservation
Managed by DCR - Division Of Water Supply Protection
6,797 acres10.3 mi of trail
NET Trail (white)
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Pelham
More than half of Pelham’s land is conserved: 61%
61% of Pelham’s land is conserved, about 9,775 acres. 2,058 acres are parks and preserves, 1,542 per 1,000 residents. 72 miles of mapped trail cross Pelham, 2.9 per square mile of land.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
61%
9,775 acres · of 25.1 sq mi of land
Trails
72 mi
2.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,058 ac
1,542 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,230 ft
Mount Lincoln
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Pelham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pelham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pelham is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. 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 Pelham’s overall grade.
Conserved land61% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (72 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land1,542 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,058 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Pelham’s 61% is ahead of 99% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
Water is 5% of Pelham’s area (1 of 27 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 58%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Quabbin Reservoir Reservation, with 10.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Amherst Water Supply Land
Managed by Town of Amherst Water Department
1,593 acres8.5 mi of trail
NET Trail (white)
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Cadwell Memorial Forest
Managed by University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation
1,113 acres4 mi of trail
NET/M&M Trail (white)NET Trail (white)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Buffam Brook Community Forest
Nature preserve
289 acres3.3 mi of trail
Northern Trail ExtensionJohn W. Oliver TrailQuarry Loop
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Harkness Conservation Area
Nature preserve
145 acres2.1 mi of trail
Well Away Farm Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Buffam Falls Conservation Area
Nature preserve
44 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pelham Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
75 acres0.9 mi of trail
Whsipering Winds Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Banfield Agricultural Preservation Restriction
Nature preserve
106 acres0.8 mi of trail
Robert Frost Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Quabbin Reservoir Reservation6,797 acres · 10.3 mi of trail · DCR - Division Of Water Supply Protection
DirectionsAmherst Water Supply Land1,593 acres · 8.5 mi of trail · Town of Amherst Water Department
DirectionsCadwell Memorial Forest1,113 acres · 4 mi of trail · University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation
Buffam Brook Community Forest289 acres · 3.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHarkness Conservation Area145 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
Buffam Falls Conservation Area44 acres · 1.9 mi of trail
DirectionsPelham Wildlife Sanctuary75 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Banfield Agricultural Preservation Restriction106 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Pemberton Memorial Forest52 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Heatherstone Brook21 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Water Supply Land76 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Whitney Conservation Area21 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Walter Cowls Jones Working Forest196 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Jackson Farm Conservation Area24 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
North Valley Conservation Area25 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Kestrel Land Trust
Pelham Watershed and Riparian Protection64 acres
Amethyst Brook Wildlife Conservation Easement33 acres
Who protects it
9,775 conserved acres
61% of Pelham’s land. Water is left out: Pelham has 25.1 square miles of land and 1.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Pelham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,072 ac
State parks1,071 ac
Town or city706 ac
State natural resources229 ac
Other state land213 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits153 ac
Joint57 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 7,696 acConservation Easement · 3,214 acLocal Other or Unknown · 173 acAgricultural Easement · 106 acLocal Park · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,897 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 26 of 81 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quabbin Reservoir Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 5,908 | Restricted |
| Amherst Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 1,262 | Unknown |
| Amherst Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 341 | Open |
| Hills Reservoir Water Department Land Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 93 | Closed |
| Robinson Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 81 | Open |
| Pelham Watershed and Riparian Protection Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 66 | Closed |
| Amherst College Land Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 57 | Open |
| Buffam Brook Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 41 | Open |
| Amherst Water Department Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 26 | Unknown |
| Jackson Farm Conservation Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 24 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Pelham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pelham
Pelham Elementary Playground
DirectionsScenic views in Pelham
DamIn Amherst Water Supply Land
DirectionsFalls
DirectionsQuabbin Reservoir Pelham LookoutIn Quabbin Reservoir Reservation
DirectionsPeaks in Pelham
Mount Lincoln1,230 ft elevation · In Cadwell Memorial Forest
DirectionsPine Hill1,217 ft elevation
DirectionsDodge Hill984 ft elevation · In Quabbin Reservoir Reservation
DirectionsMount Orient955 ft elevation
DirectionsPoverty Mountain810 ft elevation
DirectionsGrey Rocks686 ft elevation
DirectionsButter Hill669 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
20 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 16.4 miHorses · 4.3 miUnpaved · 21.6 mi
NET Trail (white)4.6 mi
Robert Frost Trail (Orange)2.7 mi
NET/M&M Trail (white)1.3 mi
Whsipering Winds Loop1.3 mi
Northern Trail Extension1.1 mi
John W. Oliver Trail1.0 mi
Robert Frost Trail0.8 mi
Backend Trail0.6 mi
Down Deep0.6 mi
Ice Pond Loop0.5 mi
10 more trails
Upper Donkey Punch
0.5 miDorie Goldman Trail (light blue)
0.4 miPoverty Ridge Run
0.4 miJunkyard Dog
0.4 miPoverty Mountain Trail
0.4 miWell-Away Farm Trail
0.4 miQuarry Loop
0.4 miLower Donkey Punch
0.2 miWell Away Farm Trail
0.1 miIce Pond Connector
0.1 miLakes & 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
1Basketball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Pelham Town Hall Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1971
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Pelham: 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) | 32 | 36 | 44 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Pelham →
Next door
Pelham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelham | 61% | 2.9 | 1,542 | 89% | A+ |
| New Salem | 81% | 0.4 | 277 | 49% | A− |
| Belchertown | 24% | 1.8 | 185 | 67% | A |
| Amherst Town | 35% | 4.0 | 95 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Shutesbury | 60% | 2.7 | 952 | 63% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pelham
Where can I hike in Pelham?
The longest trail networks: Quabbin Reservoir Reservation, 10.3 miles; Amherst Water Supply Land, 8.5 miles; Cadwell Memorial Forest, 4 miles; Buffam Brook Community Forest, 3.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pelham is conserved land?
61% 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 Pelham’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Amherst Water Supply Land (on leash) and Buffam Brook Community Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Pelham?
53,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pelham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,648 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pelham have?
Among the top 1% 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 Pelham 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 →