Lilly Pond Community Forest
Managed by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
245 acres7.8 mi of trail
Marsh View TrailG3Swift LoopGrandpa's Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bath
Bath has 33 miles of mapped trails, 3.6 for every square mile of land
16% of Bath’s land is conserved, about 955 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lilly Pond Community Forest (7.8 mi), Thorne Head Preserve (3.5 mi), Butler Head Preserve (3.3 mi). 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #5 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
955 acres · of 9.1 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
3.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
195 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bath?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bath have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bath is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #5 of 143 in Maine. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bath’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (195 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home87% 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 93%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 97%
Water is 31% of Bath’s area (4 of 13 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 11%.
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 Lilly Pond Community Forest, with 7.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thorne Head Preserve
Managed by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
93 acres3.5 mi of trail
Whiskeag TrailRidgerunner TrailOverlook TrailMushroom Cap Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Butler Head Preserve
Managed by City of Bath
135 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sewall Woods Preserve
Managed by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
96 acres1.2 mi of trail
Whiskeag Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Maine Maritime Museum Park
Park
16 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 18 parks & preserves
Lilly Pond Community Forest245 acres · 7.8 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
DirectionsThorne Head Preserve93 acres · 3.5 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
DirectionsButler Head Preserve135 acres · 3.3 mi of trail · City of Bath
DirectionsSewall Woods Preserve96 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
DirectionsMaine Maritime Museum Park16 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth End Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsWhiskeag Creek Preserve35 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
KELT Easement22 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Library Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Losier-Rogers Family Preserve28 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Lambert Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBridge Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Bath
DirectionsLinwood E. Temple Waterfront Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKennebec River Estuary Wildlife Management Area91 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Whiskeag Field10 acres · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
DirectionsWhiskeag Creek Wetlands7 acres · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
South End Boat Launch4 acres
Goddards Pond2 acres
Who protects it
955 conserved acres
16% of Bath’s land. Water is left out: Bath has 9.1 square miles of land and 4.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bath’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits773 ac
Regional agency320 ac
State fish & wildlife264 ac
Town or city153 ac
Regional Water Districts2 ac
State parks1 ac
Not recorded206 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 578 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 460 acConservation Easement · 387 acPrivate Conservation · 161 acState Conservation Area · 91 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 27 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 16 of 40 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| KELT-Kresja and Seguin Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 245 | Closed |
| KELT-ButlerHead Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 139 | Unknown |
| Merrymeeting Bay Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 139 | Open |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 139 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 111 | Unknown |
| Thorne Head Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 93 | Closed |
| Kennebec River Estuary Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 91 | Closed |
| Sewall Woods Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 91 | Restricted |
| Whiskeag Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 71 | Closed |
| Lower Kennebec Private Conservation | Not recorded | 62 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Bath
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bath
Play Place
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bath
North End Boat Launch
DirectionsSouth End Boat LaunchIn South End Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Bath
6 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
24 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.5 miUnpaved · 12.5 mi
Whiskeag Trail4.3 mi
Mitchell Loop1.0 mi
Marsh View Trail0.9 mi
Multi-use Trail0.7 mi
G30.6 mi
Swift Loop0.6 mi
Grandpa's Trail0.5 mi
Ledgeview Trail0.5 mi
Ridgerunner Trail0.4 mi
Overlook Trail0.3 mi
14 more trails
Mushroom Cap Trail
0.3 miWintergreen Ramble
0.3 miSalamander Crossing
0.3 miNarrows Trails
0.2 miTrail Connector
0.2 miThorne Head Footpath
0.2 miNarrows Trail
0.2 miEstes Loop
0.2 miOld Ferry Road Trail
0.2 miLilly Pond Trail
0.1 miMud Trail
0.1 miVarnum Field Footway
0.1 miPond Connector
0.1 miSunset Loop Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
9Tracks
4Tennis
4Baseball
3Football
3Lacrosse
3Soccer
3Softball
3Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 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.
U.S. Customhouse and Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1970
About itPercy and Small ShipyardDistrict · listed 1971
About itWinter Street ChurchBuilding · listed 1971
About itBath Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itGov. William King HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itHyde MansionBuilding · listed 1978
About itW. D. Crooker HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itCaptain Merritt HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itWilliam T. Donnell HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itTrufant Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itHuse, John E.L., Memorial SchoolBuilding · listed 2016
About itMARY E. (Schooner)Structure · listed 2019
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bath: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 41 | 52 | 63 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 58 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
August is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bath →
Next door
Bath and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Brunswick77 miTopsham46 miBowdoinham39 miPhippsburg38 miBath33 miWest Bath16 miWoolwich6.1 miArrowsic3.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | 16% | 3.6 | 22 | 87% | A |
| West Bath | 7% | 1.4 | under 1 | 5% | C+ |
| Woolwich | 8% | 0.2 | 55 | 7% | B− |
| Brunswick | 14% | 1.6 | 53 | 76% | A |
| Phippsburg | 29% | 1.3 | 153 | 19% | A− |
| Topsham | 11% | 1.4 | 15 | 29% | B+ |
| Arrowsic | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bowdoinham | 13% | 1.1 | 14 | 12% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bath
Where can I hike in Bath?
The longest trail networks: Lilly Pond Community Forest, 7.8 miles; Thorne Head Preserve, 3.5 miles; Butler Head Preserve, 3.3 miles; Sewall Woods Preserve, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bath is conserved land?
16% 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 Bath’s trails?
Lilly Pond Community Forest and Thorne Head Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bath?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Bath?
2,659 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bath or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 195 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bath have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Bath 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 →