East Over Reservation
Nature preserve
73 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rochester
Rochester has 2,535 acres of parks, 434 for every 1,000 residents
25% of Rochester’s land is conserved, about 5,458 acres. The biggest trail networks: East Over Reservation (1.8 mi), Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest (1.2 mi), Leonards Pond Recreation Area (0.8 mi). 26 miles of mapped trail cross Rochester, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #198 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
5,458 acres · of 33.6 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,535 ac
434 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
92 ft
Vaughn Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
What kind of outdoors town is Rochester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rochester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rochester is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #198 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rochester’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land434 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,535 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home68% 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 92%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 30%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Rochester’s 25% is ahead of 63% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
Water is 7% of Rochester’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 24%.
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 East Over Reservation, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest
Nature preserve
109 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Leonards Pond Recreation Area
Nature preserve
80 acres0.8 mi of trail
Future American Perimeter Trail (Flagged)Trail Easement
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rounseville II Preserve
Nature preserve
51 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 19 parks & preserves
East Over Reservation73 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsStephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest109 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLeonards Pond Recreation Area80 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Rounseville II Preserve51 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsHaskell Swamp Wildlife Management Area1,222 acres
Church Homestead Wildlife Management Area162 acres
Mattapoisett River Valley Lands126 acres
Rochester Wildlife Management Area77 acres
Lincoln P. Holmes Memorial Woods29 acres
Doggett Brook Conservation Area29 acres
Lionberger Preserve19 acres
Dexter Lane Fields18 acres
Rounseville Preserve13 acres
Shadow Farm Property12 acres
Carolyn G. Bruce Reservation11 acres
Marys Pond Recreation Area10 acres
Geggett Lot Wetlands6 acres
Gifford Park6 acres
Byrne Property5 acres
Who protects it
5,458 conserved acres
25% of Rochester’s land. Water is left out: Rochester has 33.6 square miles of land and 2.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Rochester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,560 ac
State natural resources1,157 ac
State fish & wildlife833 ac
Other state land706 ac
Joint523 ac
Town or city384 ac
Not recorded2,857 ac
Conservation Easement · 4,245 acState Conservation Area · 1,534 acAgricultural Easement · 706 acPrivate Conservation · 537 acLocal Other or Unknown · 403 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,601 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 255 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haskell Swamp Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,296 | Open |
| Mattapoisett River Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 162 | Open |
| Rochester Golf Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 143 | Open |
| Mattapoisett River Valley Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 127 | Open |
| Stephen C L Delano Memorial Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 107 | Open |
| Old Colony Reg Voc School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 86 | Open |
| Leonards Pond Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Open |
| Old Field Farm Private Conservation | Not recorded | 78 | Restricted |
| Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 77 | Unknown |
| Hartley Reservoir Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 76 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Rochester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rochester
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Rochester
Vaughn Hill92 ft elevation
DirectionsFearing Hill59 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.2 mi
Trail Easement0.7 mi
Future American Perimeter Trail (Flagged)0.5 mi
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
8Baseball
2Soccer
2Basketball
1Skate park
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 Rochester: 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 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 40 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
July is the driest month (3.2 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.4 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Rochester →
Next door
Rochester 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester | 25% | 0.8 | 434 | 68% | A |
| Wareham | 20% | 3.2 | 114 | 95% | A+ |
| Mattapoisett | 38% | 1.1 | 397 | 98% | A+ |
| Marion | 39% | 1.5 | 508 | 97% | A+ |
| Middleborough | 21% | 1.4 | 267 | 64% | A |
| Acushnet | 11% | 0.2 | 84 | 73% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rochester
Where can I hike in Rochester?
The longest trail networks: East Over Reservation, 1.8 miles; Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest, 1.2 miles; Leonards Pond Recreation Area, 0.8 miles; Rounseville II Preserve, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rochester is conserved land?
25% 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 Rochester’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Stephen C.L. Delano Memorial Forest (on leash) and Rounseville II Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rochester?
58,263 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rochester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,813 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rochester have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #198 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 Rochester 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 →