Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
873 acres11.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Webster
Webster has 22 miles of mapped trails, 1.8 for every square mile of land
23% of Webster’s land is conserved, about 1,815 acres. 1,035 acres are parks and preserves, 58 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area (11.8 mi), Douglas State Forest (3.2 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #160 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
1,815 acres · of 12.4 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,035 ac
58 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
909 ft
Wood Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Webster?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Webster have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Webster is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #160 of 283 in Massachusetts. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Webster’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land58 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,035 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home84% 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 96%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 44%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Webster’s 23% is ahead of 55% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% of them.
Water is 15% of Webster’s area (2 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
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 Mine Brook WMA, with 11.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Douglas State Forest
Nature preserve
202 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Memorial Athletic Field
Park
12 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area873 acres · 11.8 mi of trail
Douglas State Forest202 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
Memorial Athletic Field12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsStarzec Field9 acres
DirectionsBerthol Field2 acres
Who protects it
1,815 conserved acres
23% of Webster’s land. Water is left out: Webster has 12.4 square miles of land and 2.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Webster’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife493 ac
Town or city127 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits59 ac
Private owners30 ac
Not recorded1,147 ac
State Conservation Area · 822 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 294 acState Resource Management Area · 202 acConservation Easement · 139 acWatershed Protection Area · 84 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 120 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 38 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 822 | Restricted |
| 200 Sportsmen Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 294 | Restricted |
| Douglas State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 202 | Open |
| Webster Fish and Game Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 69 | Restricted |
| Webster Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 67 | Unknown |
| St Joseph Polish Cemetery Private Historic or Cultural | Not recorded | 37 | Unknown |
| Bartlett High School and Webster Middle School Athletic Fields Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 37 | Open |
| Indian Ranch Campground Local Park | Private owners | 29 | Open |
| Cross Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 24 | Open |
| Mount Zion Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Webster
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Webster
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Webster
George Street Playground
DirectionsSlater Street Playground
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Webster
Webster Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Webster
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Webster
Wood Hill909 ft elevation · In Douglas State Forest
DirectionsBare Hill860 ft elevation · In Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsSugarloaf Hill768 ft elevation
DirectionsEmerson Hill692 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.8 miHorses · 2.8 miUnpaved · 2.1 mi
Southern New England Railway0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
9Basketball
7Tennis
5Baseball
2Football
1Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 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.
Eddy BlockBuilding · listed 1980
About itShumway BlockBuilding · listed 1980
About itSpaulding BlockBuilding · listed 1980
About itMain Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itRock Castle SchoolBuilding · listed 1989
About itThompson SchoolBuilding · listed 1989
About itDistrict Five SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itWebster Municipal Buildings Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2012
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Webster: 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) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Webster →
Next door
Webster and its neighbors
Webster has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Webster
Where can I hike in Webster?
The longest trail networks: Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area, 11.8 miles; Douglas State Forest, 3.2 miles; Memorial Athletic Field, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Webster is conserved land?
23% 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 Webster’s trails?
Mine Brook Wildlife Management Area and Douglas State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Webster?
18,644 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Webster or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,281 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Webster have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #160 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 Webster 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 →