Townsend State Forest
Nature preserve
3,157 acres23.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Townsend
Townsend has 5,047 acres of parks, 555 for every 1,000 residents
77 miles of mapped trail cross Townsend, 2.4 per square mile of land. 24% of Townsend’s land is conserved, about 4,954 acres. The biggest trail networks: Townsend State Forest (23.7 mi), Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area (5.2 mi), Hunting Hills Wildlife Management Area (3.8 mi).
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #76 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
4,954 acres · of 32.7 sq mi of land
Trails
77 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,047 ac
555 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 1.7 mi paths
Highest peak
751 ft
Barker Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Townsend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Townsend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Townsend is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Townsend’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (77 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land555 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,047 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 98%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 73%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Townsend’s 24% is ahead of 58% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Townsend State Forest, with 23.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
797 acres5.2 mi of trail
Squannacook River Trail Network
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hunting Hills Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
286 acres3.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Meetinghouse Park
Managed by Town of Townsend Conservation Commission
242 acres2.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Townsend Hill Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
618 acres2.6 mi of trail
Heading Northh2w
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Howard Park
Nature preserve
40 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Townsend State Forest3,157 acres · 23.7 mi of trail
DirectionsSquannacook River Wildlife Management Area797 acres · 5.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHunting Hills Wildlife Management Area286 acres · 3.8 mi of trail
Meetinghouse Park242 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · Town of Townsend Conservation Commission
Townsend Hill Wildlife Management Area618 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
Howard Park40 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsTown Common2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenville Road Conservation Area54 acres
Wallace Hill32 acres
TAYBS Spaulding Fields4 acres · Townsend Ashby Youth Baseball & Softball
DirectionsTAYBS Craven Field3 acres · Townsend Ashby Youth Baseball & Softball
Upper Common2 acres
DirectionsLarge Town Forest1 acres
Who protects it
4,954 conserved acres
24% of Townsend’s land. Who manages Townsend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife204 ac
State natural resources198 ac
Town or city155 ac
Private owners65 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits57 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government38 ac
Joint29 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,325 acConservation Easement · 422 acLocal Park · 133 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 117 acPrivate Conservation · 87 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 241 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willard Brook State Forest State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,454 | Open |
| Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 1,139 | Open |
| Townsend Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 693 | Open |
| Hunting Hills Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 286 | Open |
| Townsend State Forest State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 184 | Open |
| Pearl Hill State Park State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 182 | Open |
| Townsend Ridge Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 117 | Restricted |
| Timberlee Park Conservation Area Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Squannacook Brook State Forest State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 63 | Open |
| Fessenden Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 63 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Townsend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Townsend
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Townsend
1 playground without a name on the map.
Peaks in Townsend
Barker Hill751 ft elevation · In Townsend State Forest
DirectionsBayberry Hill686 ft elevation
DirectionsWest Hill600 ft elevation · In Townsend State Forest
DirectionsTownsend Hill591 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Townsend
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Townsend
Pearl Hill Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.3 miHorses · 0.8 miUnpaved · 22.6 mi
Heading North2.3 mi
h2w1.9 mi
Squannacook River Rail Trail1.7 mi
No Name1.6 mi
Friends Pearl Hill SP Loop Trail1.3 mi
Trilogy - Northeast Singletrack1.2 mi
need name1.0 mi
Mason Railroad Trail0.9 mi
Willard's Highway0.8 mi
Group Camp0.6 mi
15 more trails
Trilogy East - Northeast Singletrack
0.6 miLil' Ditty
0.5 mino name
0.5 miCop Out
0.5 miScout Camp
0.4 miRock and Roll
0.4 miBeginner MTB Trail
0.3 miDown and Out
0.3 miOrange Trail
0.3 miPearl Hill Brook Trail
0.3 miFriends (Yellow) Downhill
0.2 miLast Hurrah
0.2 miSquannacook River Trail Network
0.1 miLichen Garden
0.1 miFriends Trail (Yellow)
0.1 miBiking & sports
1.9 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
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Squannacook River Rail TrailBike route
1.7 miMason Railroad TrailBike route
0.9 miCourts & fields
7Tennis
6Soccer
4Baseball
3Basketball
3Tracks
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Townsend: 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) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Townsend →
Next door
Townsend and its neighbors
Townsend has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Townsend
Where can I hike in Townsend?
The longest trail networks: Townsend State Forest, 23.7 miles; Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area, 5.2 miles; Hunting Hills Wildlife Management Area, 3.8 miles; Meetinghouse Park, 2.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Townsend is conserved land?
24% 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 Townsend’s trails?
Townsend State Forest and Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Townsend?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 1.7 of off-road paths. Named routes: Squannacook River Rail Trail and Mason Railroad Trail.
Is there public land near Townsend?
55,591 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Townsend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,168 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Townsend have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #76 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 Townsend 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 →