Gawler Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
367 acres1.2 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 27Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 3
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Foster Farm Barn · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Belgrade
Belgrade has 52 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 19 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Belgrade’s land is conserved, about 1,018 acres.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #100 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,018 acres · of 43.2 sq mi of land
Trails
52 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
19 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
705 ft
Howland Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Belgrade?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Belgrade have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Belgrade is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #100 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Belgrade’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (52 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (19 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home12% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 43%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 30%
Water is 25% of Belgrade’s area (15 of 58 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 range from C− to 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 Gawler WMA, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ray Hammond Memorial Forest
Managed by Maine Woodland Owners
80 acres0.3 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 29
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gawler Wildlife Mangagement Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
225 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Great Pond Boat Access
Park
7 acres0.1 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 27
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Gawler Wildlife Management Area367 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
Ray Hammond Memorial Forest80 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Maine Woodland Owners
Great Pond Boat Access7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGawler Wildlife Mangagement Area225 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Messalonskee Lake Boat Access4 acres
DirectionsKenneth Workmand Municipal Field2 acres
Salmon Lake Access2 acres
Belgrade Village Green1 acres
Hayden Park1 acres
DirectionsPeninsula Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,018 conserved acres
4% of Belgrade’s land. Water is left out: Belgrade has 43.2 square miles of land and 14.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Belgrade’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife594 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits588 ac
State parks88 ac
Not recorded366 ac
State Conservation Area · 934 acUnknown Easement · 230 acPrivate Conservation · 128 acAgricultural Easement · 124 acConservation Easement · 105 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 230 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 16 of 34 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gawler Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 934 | Closed |
| Ray Hammond Memorial Forest Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 81 | Restricted |
| Messalonskee Lake Boat Access State Park | State parks | 80 | Closed |
| Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Closed |
| Cayer Parcel Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Closed |
| Weston Meadow (adjacent) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Great Pond Boating Access State Park | State parks | 7 | Closed |
| Salmon Lake Access State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 3 | Closed |
| Long Pond State Park | State parks | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
9 places to go in Belgrade
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Belgrade
Great Pond LaunchIn Great Pond Boat Access
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Belgrade
Howland Hill705 ft elevation
DirectionsLord Hill541 ft elevation
DirectionsBickford Hill509 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Belgrade
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Belgrade
BSA Camp BomazeenBoy Scouts of America Pine Tree Council
DirectionsPlus 2 campgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
14 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Snowmobile Trail 2714.0 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29A10.3 mi
Snowmobile Trail 298.4 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Downtown2.1 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 101.5 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 91.5 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29B1.2 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 70.8 mi
Fire Road H 90.7 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Sumer Haven0.7 mi
4 more trails
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 3
0.7 miSnowmobile Belgrade Larry's Trail
0.4 miSnowmobile Great Pond Access
0.4 miSnowmobile
0.4 miLakes & 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
15Tennis
2Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Belgrade: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Belgrade →
Next door
Belgrade and its neighbors
Belgrade has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Belgrade52 miSidney30 miManchester24 miRome23 miSmithfield23 miOakland23 miMount Vernon18 miReadfield16 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgrade | 4% | 1.2 | 6 | 12% | C+ |
| Rome | 21% | 0.9 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Mount Vernon | 5% | 0.5 | 1 | 3% | C |
| Oakland | 2% | 0.9 | 8 | 17% | C+ |
| Sidney | 2% | 0.7 | 9 | 2% | C |
| Smithfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Manchester | 16% | 1.1 | 28 | 6% | B+ |
| Readfield | 9% | 0.6 | 14 | 10% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Belgrade
Where can I hike in Belgrade?
The longest trail networks: Gawler Wildlife Management Area, 1.2 miles; Ray Hammond Memorial Forest, 0.3 miles; Great Pond Boat Access, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Belgrade is conserved land?
4% 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 Belgrade’s trails?
Gawler Wildlife Management Area and Ray Hammond Memorial Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Belgrade?
2,774 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Belgrade or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 19 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Belgrade have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #100 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 Belgrade 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 →