Mount Apatite Park
Park
320 acres8.8 mi of trail
BlueMt. Apatite
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Auburn
Auburn has 534 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mount Apatite Park (8.8 mi), Sherwood Forest Conservation Area (0.7 mi), Pettingill Park (0.5 mi). 28 miles of mapped trail cross Auburn, 0.5 per square mile of land. 3% of Auburn’s land is conserved, about 1,108 acres.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #63 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,108 acres · of 59.3 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
534 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
581 ft
Dillingham Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Auburn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Auburn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Auburn is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #63 of 143 in Maine. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Auburn’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (28 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (534 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home63% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 60%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 56%
Water is 10% of Auburn’s area (6 of 66 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be B. 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 Mount Apatite Park, with 8.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sherwood Forest Conservation Area
Managed by Androscoggin Land Trust
27 acres0.7 mi of trail
Blue/Passamaquoddy TrailSherwood Forest Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pettingill Park
Park
45 acres0.5 mi of trail
Pettingill Park trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Talking Brook Public Land
Managed by Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
24 acres0.3 mi of trail
Big Falls Loop Trail
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
Mount Apatite Park320 acres · 8.8 mi of trail
DirectionsSherwood Forest Conservation Area27 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Androscoggin Land Trust
Pettingill Park45 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Talking Brook Public Land24 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
West Pitch Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRodney Bonney Memorial Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAnniversary Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPope Conservation Area36 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
Lakeview Fields23 acres
DirectionsCliff Rydholm Park18 acres · Auburn Suburban Baseball & Softball Field Complex
Auburn Tot Lot13 acres
LAYSA Field Complex8 acres
Chestnut Street Park8 acres
Lake Grove Park5 acres
DirectionsMoulton Park3 acres
Cleveland Field Park3 acres
Union Street Park3 acres
DirectionsEdward Little Park2 acres
Pulsifer Field2 acres
Auburn Boat Access1 acres
Raymond Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,108 conserved acres
3% of Auburn’s land. Water is left out: Auburn has 59.3 square miles of land and 6.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Auburn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits616 ac
Regional agency519 ac
Town or city362 ac
Regional Water Districts99 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
Not recorded618 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,038 acLocal Park · 347 acUnknown Easement · 269 acAgricultural Easement · 201 acWatershed Protection Area · 198 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 269 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 618 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 519 | Unknown |
| Mount Apatite Local Park | Town or city | 274 | Open |
| Lake Auburn Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 99 | Unknown |
| SherwoodForest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Restricted |
| Big Falls Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Restricted |
| HustonFarm Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Closed |
| Garfield Road Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Pettingill Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Lakeview Ballfields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Auburn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Auburn
Mothers Park
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Auburn
Lake Auburn Public Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Auburn
Dillingham Hill581 ft elevation
DirectionsWoodbury Hill551 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Giles545 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Apatite512 ft elevation · In Mount Apatite Park
DirectionsMarstons Hill476 ft elevation
DirectionsMerrill Hill453 ft elevation
DirectionsButler Hill410 ft elevation
DirectionsChristian Hill404 ft elevation
Directions2 more peaks
Pride Hill299 ft elevation
DirectionsLaurel Hill184 ft elevation
DirectionsDisc golf in Auburn
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Auburn
Whitney Street Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
20 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.0 miUnpaved · 4.4 mi
Blue2.9 mi
Mt. Apatite1.1 mi
Ricker's Field Loop1.1 mi
Blue/Passamaquoddy Trail0.8 mi
Pond Loop Lollypop0.8 mi
Yellow/Penobscot Trail0.6 mi
Perkins Ridge Trail0.6 mi
Pettingill Park trail0.5 mi
Ricker's Field Center0.5 mi
Broadway0.4 mi
10 more trails
Faith and Mary's Trail
0.4 miWater's Edge
0.4 miWhite/Micmac Trail
0.3 miBig Falls Loop Trail
0.3 miJim's Split
0.3 miRiverwalk
0.2 miKen’s Drop
0.2 miOrange/Anasazi Trail
0.2 miSherwood Forest Trail
0.2 miEntrance Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
12Tennis
10Soccer
5Softball
4Tracks
4Basketball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →25 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Charles A. Jordan HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itEdward Little HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itHoratio G. Foss HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itHolman Day HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itEngine HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itFirst Universalist ChurchBuilding · listed 1979
About itBarker MillBuilding · listed 1979
About itFrank L. Dingley HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itCharles L. Cushman HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itHorace Munroe HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itRoak BlockBuilding · listed 1982
About itAndroscoggin County Courthouse and JailBuilding · listed 1983
About it13 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Auburn: May and July 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Auburn →
Next door
Auburn and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Auburn
Where can I hike in Auburn?
The longest trail networks: Mount Apatite Park, 8.8 miles; Sherwood Forest Conservation Area, 0.7 miles; Pettingill Park, 0.5 miles; Talking Brook Public Land, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Auburn is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 6% for a Maine town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Auburn’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Talking Brook Public Land. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Auburn?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Auburn?
4,479 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Auburn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 534 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Auburn have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #63 of 143 in Maine. 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 Auburn 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 →