Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
2,975 acres9.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wales
Wales has 3,450 acres of parks, 1,788 for every 1,000 residents
47% of Wales’ land is conserved, about 4,739 acres. 21 miles of mapped trail cross Wales, 1.3 per square mile of land. 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
47%
4,739 acres · of 15.8 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,450 ac
1,788 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,243 ft
Mount Pisgah
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Wales?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wales have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wales is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. 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 Wales’ overall grade.
Conserved land47% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land1,788 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,450 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · MA 93% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Wales’ 47% is ahead of 97% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 27% 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 Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, with 9.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brimfield State Forest
Nature preserve
1,172 acres6.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,739 conserved acres
47% of Wales’ land. Who manages Wales’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded4,704 ac
Private Conservation · 3,080 acState Resource Management Area · 1,293 acState Conservation Area · 204 acResearch or Educational Area · 128 acConservation Easement · 35 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 35 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 3,043 | Open |
| Brimfield State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,293 | Open |
| Wales Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 204 | Open |
| Wales Elementary School Playground Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 128 | Open |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation 2 Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Closed |
| Wales Fish And Game Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 17 | Restricted |
| Tupper Hill (Ymo Realty Trust) Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
| South Laurel Hill Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Stafford Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
| McBride Road Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Wales
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wales
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Wales
Mount Pisgah1,243 ft elevation · In Brimfield State Forest
DirectionsMount Hitchcock1,168 ft elevation
DirectionsBear Hill1,138 ft elevation · In Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
DirectionsMoss Hill1,119 ft elevation · In Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
DirectionsGreat Mountain1,066 ft elevation · In Brimfield State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Wales Brook Trail0.8 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wales: 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 36 | 44 | 57 | 68 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Wales →
Next door
Wales and its neighbors
Wales has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Wales
Where can I hike in Wales?
The longest trail networks: Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, 9.5 miles; Brimfield State Forest, 6.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wales is conserved land?
47% 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 Wales’ trails?
Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary and Brimfield State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wales?
30,003 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wales or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,479 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wales have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Wales 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 →