Cowell Conservation Area
Managed by Town of Plainville Conservation Commission
104 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Plainville
Plainville has 35 miles of mapped trails, 3.2 for every square mile of land
13% of Plainville’s land is conserved, about 953 acres. 520 acres are parks and preserves, 52 per 1,000 residents. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #136 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
953 acres · of 11.0 sq mi of land
Trails
35 mi
3.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
520 ac
52 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is Plainville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plainville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plainville is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #136 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Plainville’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A−Trails3.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (35 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land52 acres of park per 1,000 residents (520 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 52%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Plainville’s 13% is ahead of 18% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 77% 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 Cowell Conservation Area, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wildlands Trust - Crystal Spring Preserve
Nature preserve
40 acres1.2 mi of trail
Red TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Wildlands Trust - Parking
Everett Skinner Road Land
Nature preserve
30 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Wrentham State Forest
Nature preserve
32 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 12 parks & preserves
Cowell Conservation Area104 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Town of Plainville Conservation Commission
Wildlands Trust - Crystal Spring Preserve40 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEverett Skinner Road Land30 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWrentham State Forest32 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsGoddard Woods24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Natural Resources Trust of Plainville
Pitcher Brook49 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Telford Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNatural Resources Trust of Plainville16 acres · Natural Resources Trust of Plainville
Field of Dreams14 acres
Mirimichi Street12 acres
West Bacon Street Land3 acres
Green Street Land3 acres
Who protects it
953 conserved acres
13% of Plainville’s land. Who manages Plainville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city100 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits64 ac
Not recorded856 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 314 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 246 acWatershed Protection Area · 189 acConservation Easement · 138 acResearch or Educational Area · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 55 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heather Hill Golf Course Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 186 | Restricted |
| North Attleborough Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 119 | Closed |
| Cowell Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 104 | Open |
| Plainville Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 60 | Unknown |
| Conservation Land A Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 56 | Open |
| Plainville Beagle Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 51 | Restricted |
| Pitcher Brook Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 48 | Open |
| Lake Mirimichi Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 42 | Open |
| Wrentham State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 32 | Open |
| Plainville Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 23 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Plainville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Plainville
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Red Trail0.9 mi
Blue Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
5Baseball
3Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Plainville: 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) | 37 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 74 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 5.0 |
July is the driest month (3.6 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Plainville →
Next door
Plainville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainville | 13% | 3.2 | 52 | 93% | A+ |
| Wrentham | 13% | 4.8 | 192 | 96% | A+ |
| North Attleborough Town | 16% | 1.5 | 30 | 94% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plainville
Where can I hike in Plainville?
The longest trail networks: Cowell Conservation Area, 1.4 miles; Wildlands Trust - Crystal Spring Preserve, 1.2 miles; Everett Skinner Road Land, 1.1 miles; Wrentham State Forest, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plainville is conserved land?
13% 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 Plainville’s trails?
Cowell Conservation Area and Wildlands Trust - Crystal Spring Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Plainville?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Plainville?
41,146 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plainville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 520 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Plainville have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #136 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 Plainville 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 →