Belle Isle Marsh Reservation
Managed by DCR
47 acres0.7 mi of trail
John Joseph Kilmartin PathwayWinthrop Greenway
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Sean 2015 at English Wikipedia · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Winthrop Town
18% of Winthrop Town’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. 6.3 miles of mapped trail cross Winthrop Town, 3.2 per square mile of land. 18% of Winthrop Town’s land is conserved, about 230 acres.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #186 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
230 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
3.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
164 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
Highest peak
89 ft
Cottage Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
11 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Winthrop Town?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Winthrop Town have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Winthrop Town is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #186 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 Winthrop Town’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical MA town 21% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MA 1.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (164 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 94%
LessMore
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 34%
Massachusetts towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 21%; the U.S., 4%), so Winthrop Town’s 18% is ahead of 35% of Massachusetts towns, while its trails per square mile lead 77% of them.
Water is more than half of Winthrop Town’s area (6 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ingleside Park
Managed by City of Winthrop Parks & Recreation
8 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fishermen's Bend
Park
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Fishermen's Bend
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Belle Isle Marsh Reservation47 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · DCR
DirectionsIngleside Park8 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Winthrop Parks & Recreation
DirectionsCoughlin Playground12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsFishermen's Bend8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Fort Heath Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBrook Field2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCrest Avenue Park1 acres
DirectionsBelle Isle Marsh Marine Ecology Park1 acres
Massa Playground1 acres
Pond Street Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
230 conserved acres
18% of Winthrop Town’s land. Water is left out: Winthrop Town has 2.0 square miles of land and 6.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Winthrop Town’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city127 ac
Private owners50 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded114 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 118 acState Conservation Area · 64 acLocal Park · 50 acConservation Easement · 50 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrop Golf Club Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Belle Isle Cemetery State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 31 | Open |
| Lewis Lake Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Belle Isle Marsh Reservation State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 24 | Open |
| Lewis Lake Park Local Park | Not recorded | 14 | Open |
| Main Winthrop Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
| Coughlin Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Fort Banks Playground State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
| Ingleside Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Yirrell Beach Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
36 places to go in Winthrop Town
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Winthrop Town
Corinha BeachIn Fishermen's Bend
DirectionsYirrel Beach
DirectionsPlus 9 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Winthrop Town
Marianna L. Fabiano Playground
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Winthrop Town
Winthrop Boat RampFee
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Winthrop Town
7 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Winthrop Town
Cottage Hill89 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Winthrop Town
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 1.0 mi
Fishermen's Bend0.3 mi
John Joseph Kilmartin Pathway0.3 mi
Winthrop Greenway0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
11Tennis
7Baseball
5Basketball
3Soccer
1Skate park
1Multi-sport
1Football
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Deane Winthrop HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itNewton, Edward B., SchoolBuilding · listed 1997
About itWinthrop Shore Dr., Metropolitan Park System of Greater BostonDistrict · listed 2004
About itWinthrop Center/Metcalf Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itHighland SchoolBuilding · listed 2014
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Winthrop Town: 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 | 46 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 51 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 |
February is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Winthrop Town →
Next door
Winthrop Town and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Winthrop Town
Where can I hike in Winthrop Town?
The longest trail networks: Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, 0.7 miles; Ingleside Park, 0.7 miles; Coughlin Playground, 0.4 miles; Fishermen's Bend, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Winthrop Town 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 Winthrop Town’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Belle Isle Marsh Reservation (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Winthrop Town?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Winthrop Town?
20,876 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Winthrop Town or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 164 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Winthrop Town have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #186 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 Winthrop Town 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 →