Ware River Watershed
Nature preserve
6,391 acres18.1 mi of trail
Midstate TrailT6 Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rutland
46% of Rutland’s land is conserved: 10,274 acres
1,380 acres are parks and preserves, 148 per 1,000 residents. 30 miles of mapped trail cross Rutland, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ware River Watershed (18.1 mi), Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area (1.3 mi), Barre Falls Flood Control Area (1.3 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #244 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
46%
10,274 acres · of 35.1 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,380 ac
148 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.7 mi
2.4 mi lanes · 6.3 mi paths
Highest peak
1,266 ft
Rice Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Rutland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rutland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rutland is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #244 of 283 in Massachusetts. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rutland’s overall grade.
Conserved land46% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (30 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land148 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,380 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home36% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 14%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Rutland’s 46% is ahead of 96% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 15% 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 Ware River Watershed, with 18.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area
Managed by MassWildlife
391 acres1.3 mi of trail
T6 Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Barre Falls Flood Control Area
Nature preserve
151 acres1.3 mi of trail
Midstate Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Department of Fish And Game
508 acres1.1 mi of trail
Midstate Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rutland State Park
Nature preserve
286 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Conservation Land
Nature preserve
83 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Ware River Watershed6,391 acres · 18.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBarre Falls Wildlife Management Area391 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · MassWildlife
Barre Falls Flood Control Area151 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area508 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Department of Fish And Game
Rutland State Park286 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsConservation Land83 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Thayer Pond Wildlife Management Area82 acres · Department of Fish And Game
DirectionsRutland Conservation Land36 acres
Rufus Putnam Park18 acres
Charles March Memorial Field9 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
10,274 conserved acres
46% of Rutland’s land. Who manages Rutland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land1,940 ac
State conservation1,294 ac
State natural resources788 ac
Town or city579 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government196 ac
State fish & wildlife132 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)40 ac
Watershed Protection Area · 7,226 acAgricultural Easement · 1,971 acConservation Easement · 1,542 acState Conservation Area · 1,031 acPrivate Conservation · 302 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,667 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 206 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ware River Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 5,997 | Restricted |
| DCR Division of Water Supply Protection 1 Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 680 | Closed |
| Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 515 | Open |
| Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 384 | Restricted |
| Treasure Valley Private Conservation | Not recorded | 301 | Restricted |
| Rutland State Park State Park | Not recorded | 294 | Open |
| Worcester Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 245 | Closed |
| Thayer Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 132 | Restricted |
| Town of Rutland Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 128 | Open |
| Cournoyer Watershed Preservation Restriction Watershed Protection Area | State conservation | 99 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Rutland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rutland
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Rutland
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Rutland
Rice Hill1,266 ft elevation
DirectionsMellen Hill1,217 ft elevation
DirectionsDavis Hill1,211 ft elevation
DirectionsCheney Hill1,204 ft elevation
DirectionsPound Hill1,188 ft elevation
DirectionsMiles Hill1,125 ft elevation · In Thayer Pond Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsCharnock Hill1,099 ft elevation
DirectionsSargent Hill1,076 ft elevation
Directions4 more peaks
Miles Hill1,050 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill997 ft elevation · In Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsCharnock Hill955 ft elevation · In Ware River Watershed
DirectionsBarrack Hill906 ft elevation · In Ware River Watershed
DirectionsPicnic areas in Rutland
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Rutland
Treasure Valley Scout ReservationHeart of New England Council
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miUnpaved · 15.8 mi
Midstate Trail7.5 mi
T6 Trail0.9 mi
Biking & sports
8.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
3Basketball
2Soccer
1Tennis
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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 Rutland: 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) | 33 | 36 | 44 | 56 | 68 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Rutland →
Next door
Rutland and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Rutland
Where can I hike in Rutland?
The longest trail networks: Ware River Watershed, 18.1 miles; Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area, 1.3 miles; Barre Falls Flood Control Area, 1.3 miles; Savage Hill Wildlife Management Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rutland is conserved land?
46% 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 Rutland’s trails?
Ware River Watershed and Barre Falls Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rutland?
8.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of painted or protected lanes and 6.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Rutland?
46,030 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rutland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,381 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rutland have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #244 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 Rutland 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 →