Salem Beverly Water Canal
Nature preserve
222 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wenham
Wenham has 20 miles of mapped trails, 2.6 for every square mile of land
30% of Wenham’s land is conserved, about 1,471 acres. 1,287 acres are parks and preserves, 261 per 1,000 residents. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #65 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
1,471 acres · of 7.7 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,287 ac
261 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Highest peak
135 ft
Lords Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Wenham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 96% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild30% of the land is conserved; a typical Massachusetts town, 21%.Room to roam261 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.History along the way8 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wenham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wenham is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #65 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 Wenham’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land261 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,287 acres) · MA 91 · U.S. 13AParks close to home91% 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 of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 77%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Wenham’s 30% is ahead of 73% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% of them.
Water is 6% of Wenham’s area (0 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 28%.
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 Salem Beverly Water Canal, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
161 acres2.8 mi of trail
Cedar Pond LoopWoodland LoopEsker Pond Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Longham Reservoir
Managed by Salem-Beverly Water Supply Board
171 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
J.C. Phillips Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
30 acres1 mi of trail
J.C. Phillips Nature PreserveEsker
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Water Supply Land
Nature preserve
55 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Mass Audubon
33 acres0.8 mi of trail
Ellice Endicott Trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Parson's Hill Open Space
Nature preserve
44 acres0.7 mi of trail
GuardrailFive Bridges
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Barrington Lot
Iron Rail Property
Nature preserve
73 acres0.5 mi of trail
Iron-Rail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 21 parks & preserves
Salem Beverly Water Canal222 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary161 acres · 2.8 mi of trail
DirectionsLongham Reservoir171 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Salem-Beverly Water Supply Board
J.C. Phillips Nature Preserve30 acres · 1 mi of trail
Water Supply Land55 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary33 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Mass Audubon
DirectionsParson's Hill Open Space44 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsIron Rail Property73 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsNickerson Knoll11 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Essex County Greenbelt
Reynolds Farm & Proctor Woodland34 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Choate Farm Open Space8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary429 acres
Ledyard Farm Conservation Restriction93 acres
ECGA Conservation Land38 acres
Town Land20 acres
Wenham Aquifer Land17 acres
Pine & Hemlock Knoll15 acres · The Trustees of Reservations
Pingree Park15 acres
Williams Conservation Land11 acres
West Wenham Park3 acres
DirectionsPleasant Pond R-O-W2 acres
Who protects it
1,471 conserved acres
30% of Wenham’s land. Water is left out: Wenham has 7.7 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wenham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city478 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits316 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government16 ac
Other state land3 ac
Private owners2 ac
Not recorded1,034 ac
Conservation Easement · 741 acPrivate Conservation · 494 acWatershed Protection Area · 420 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 69 acUnknown Easement · 44 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 425 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 78 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 441 | Open |
| Salem-Beverly Waterway Canal Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 222 | Unknown |
| Longham Reservoir Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 129 | Open |
| Wenham Country Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 69 | Restricted |
| Salem-Beverly Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 52 | Open |
| Endicott Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 34 | Open |
| J C Phillips Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 30 | Open |
| Town of Wenham Water Supply Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Pine and Hemlock Knoll Reservation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| Charles and Allen Farm Conservation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
1 places to go in Wenham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Wenham
Lords Hill135 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.1 miUnpaved · 10.7 mi
Cedar Pond Loop1.0 mi
Guardrail0.7 mi
J.C. Phillips Nature Preserve0.6 mi
Main Loop Trail0.6 mi
Woodland Loop0.5 mi
Ellice Endicott Trail0.5 mi
Five Bridges0.2 mi
Iron-Rail0.2 mi
Esker Pond Loop0.2 mi
Swampwalk0.1 mi
1 more trails
Esker
0.1 miLakes & 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.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
5Baseball
4Soccer
1Softball
1Basketball
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).
Claflin-Richards HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itWenham Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itJames Friend HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itJohn Perkins HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itLarch FarmBuilding · listed 1990
About itNewman-Fiske-Dodge HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itOld FarmBuilding · listed 1990
About itSolomon Kimball HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Wenham: 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) | 36 | 38 | 45 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Wenham →
Next door
Wenham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wenham | 30% | 2.6 | 261 | 91% | A+ |
| Topsfield | 37% | 2.5 | 222 | 87% | A+ |
| Beverly | 19% | 3.1 | 26 | 98% | A+ |
| Danvers | 20% | 1.1 | 26 | 98% | A |
| Hamilton | 38% | 4.4 | 229 | 84% | A+ |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | 19% | 4.7 | 106 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wenham
Where can I hike in Wenham?
The longest trail networks: Salem Beverly Water Canal, 3.2 miles; Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, 2.8 miles; Longham Reservoir, 1.2 miles; J.C. Phillips Nature Preserve, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wenham is conserved land?
30% 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 Wenham’s trails?
Salem Beverly Water Canal and Cedar Pond Wildlife Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wenham?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wenham?
42,934 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wenham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,292 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wenham have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #65 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 Wenham 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 →