Elm St Acres
Nature preserve
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Somerset
7% of Somerset’s land is conserved: 372 acres
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Somerset, 0.2 per square mile of land. 313 acres are parks and preserves, 17 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #279 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
372 acres · of 7.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
313 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Highest peak
3 ft
Fox Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
8 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Somerset?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Somerset have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Somerset is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #279 of 283 in Massachusetts. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Somerset’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (313 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13BParks 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)Ahead of 65%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)#279 of 283
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Somerset’s 7% is ahead of 3% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 1% of them.
Water is 34% of Somerset’s area (4 of 12 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buffington Park
Park
34 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Brayton Point Salt Marsh
Nature preserve
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Quirk Mello Conservation Area
Nature preserve
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Buffington Park34 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Elm St Acres52 acres
Brayton Point Salt Marsh16 acres
Quirk Mello Conservation Area9 acres
Potterville School Playground6 acres
Conservation Land5 acres · Town of Somerset Conservation Commission
Mallard Point3 acres · Town of Somerset Conservation Commission
Chace Preserve2 acres
DirectionsBroad Cove1 acres
Blackledge1 acres
Who protects it
372 conserved acres
7% of Somerset’s land. Water is left out: Somerset has 7.9 square miles of land and 4.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Somerset’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city244 ac
Not recorded134 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 225 acLocal Park · 63 acResearch or Educational Area · 51 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 17 acLocal Conservation Area · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marsh Skating Area Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Elm St Acres Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Buffington Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Somerset Berkley Regional High School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 24 | Restricted |
| South Complex Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Open |
| Pierce Beach Park Local Park | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| Nathan Slade Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 14 | Open |
| Ashton Playgrund Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| North Elementary School Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 13 | Restricted |
| Chace St School Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 12 | Restricted |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
20 places to go in Somerset
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Somerset
Brayton Point Beach
DirectionsPierce Beach
DirectionsPlus 6 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Somerset
Edward J. O'Neill Memorial Playground
DirectionsPierce Beach Playground
DirectionsSomerset Public Schools
DirectionsWest Hill Playground
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Peaks in Somerset
Fox Hill3 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Baseball
7Tennis
7Basketball
5Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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.
Ariadne J. and Mary A. Borden HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itSt. Patrick's ChurchBuilding · listed 1983
About itBorden Flats Light StationStructure · listed 1987
About itSwansea Friends Meetinghouse and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2014
About itSomerset Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020
About itBrayton HomesteadBuilding · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Somerset: 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) | 38 | 40 | 47 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
July is the driest month (3.3 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.1 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Somerset →
Next door
Somerset 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset | 7% | 0.2 | 17 | 89% | B+ |
| Swansea | 10% | 0.9 | 36 | 67% | A− |
| Dighton | 7% | 0.3 | 54 | 77% | B+ |
| Fall River | 44% | 2.9 | 23 | 81% | A |
| Freetown | 19% | 2.2 | 145 | 60% | A |
| Berkley | 8% | 0.1 | 36 | 50% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Somerset
Where can I hike in Somerset?
The longest trail networks: Buffington Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Somerset is conserved land?
7% 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 Somerset’s trails?
Elm St Acres and Buffington Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Somerset?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Somerset?
26,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Somerset or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 313 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Somerset have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #279 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 Somerset 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 →