Harold A. King Town Forest
Managed by Town of Swampscott Conservation Commission
51 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Daderot at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Swampscott
18% of Swampscott’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4.7 miles of mapped trail cross Swampscott, 1.6 per square mile of land. 18% of Swampscott’s land is conserved, about 344 acres.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #221 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
344 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.7 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
9.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Highest peak
89 ft
Vinnin Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
7 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Swampscott?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Swampscott have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Swampscott is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #221 of 283 in Massachusetts. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Swampscott’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land9.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 22%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Swampscott’s 18% is ahead of 36% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
Water is more than half of Swampscott’s area (4 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Harold A. King Town Forest, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 9 parks & preserves
Harold A. King Town Forest51 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Town of Swampscott Conservation Commission
Linscott Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsJohnson Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Jackson Park21 acres
DirectionsPhillips Park18 acres
DirectionsCharles M. Ewing Woods7 acres
DirectionsAbbott Park2 acres
DirectionsMuskrat Pond Conservation Area2 acres
Howland Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
344 conserved acres
18% of Swampscott’s land. Water is left out: Swampscott has 3.0 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Swampscott’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city104 ac
Not recorded264 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 145 acLocal Resource Management Area · 51 acLocal Park · 44 acConservation Easement · 30 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 28 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 16 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 36 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tedesco Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 139 | Restricted |
| Harold A King Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 51 | Open |
| Swampscott Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 28 | Open |
| Phillips Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Palmer Pond Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Middle School Athletic Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| Jackson Park Woods Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| Phillips' Beach Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Ewing Woods Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Upper Jackson Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Swampscott
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Swampscott
Eisman's Beach
DirectionsFisherman's Beach
DirectionsPhillips Beach
DirectionsPreston Beach
DirectionsWhales Beach
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Swampscott
Hadley Playground
DirectionsSuperior Street Playground
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Swampscott
Swampscott Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Swampscott
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Swampscott
Vinnin Hill89 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
6Baseball
4Basketball
2Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places 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 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Swampscott: 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) | 37 | 39 | 45 | 56 | 66 | 75 | 81 | 79 | 73 | 62 | 51 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.8 |
August is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Swampscott →
Next door
Swampscott 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swampscott | 18% | 1.6 | 9 | 99%+ | A |
| Salem | 26% | 3.2 | 19 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Lynn | 14% | 4.0 | 2 | 99%+ | A |
| Marblehead | 11% | 1.9 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Swampscott
Where can I hike in Swampscott?
The longest trail networks: Harold A. King Town Forest, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Swampscott is conserved land?
18% 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 Swampscott’s trails?
Harold A. King Town Forest and Jackson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Swampscott?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of painted or protected lanes, 0.2 of off-road paths and 0.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Swampscott?
17,081 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Swampscott or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Swampscott have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #221 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 Swampscott 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 →