Pleasant River Headwaters Forest
Managed by Appalachian Mountain Club
802 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Hugh Manatee at en.wikipedia · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Brownville
Brownville has 14 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
42 acres are parks and preserves, 43 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Pleasant River Headwaters Forest (1.2 mi). 1% of Brownville’s land is conserved, about 324 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
324 acres · of 43.8 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
43 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
794 ft
Stickney Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brownville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brownville is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brownville’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land43 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home50% 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 50%
LessMore
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 Pleasant River Headwaters Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brownville Woods
Managed by Maine Woodland Owners
146 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Davis Field
Park
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
324 conserved acres
1% of Brownville’s land. Who manages Brownville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits272 ac
State parks31 ac
Not recorded23 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 146 acPrivate Conservation · 126 acState Recreation Area · 31 acState Other or Unknown · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownville Pleasant River Lot Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 146 | Restricted |
| Brownville, Maclean Lot 2 Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 126 | Restricted |
| Katahdin Iron Works Rail Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 31 | Unknown |
| KIW Rail Trail State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Brownville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Brownville
Stickney Hill794 ft elevation
DirectionsSearles Hill781 ft elevation
DirectionsGerrish Hill719 ft elevation
DirectionsBrown Hill656 ft elevation
DirectionsBull Hill538 ft elevation · In Pleasant River Headwaters Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in Brownville
The Junction
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Norton Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Brownville: 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Brownville →
Next door
Brownville and its neighbors
Brownville has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownville | 1% | 0.3 | 43 | 50% | B− |
| Lake View plantation | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milo | 3% | 0.2 | 6 | 33% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brownville
Where can I hike in Brownville?
The longest trail networks: Pleasant River Headwaters Forest, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brownville is conserved land?
1% 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 Brownville’s trails?
Pleasant River Headwaters Forest and Brownville Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brownville?
922 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brownville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 42 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brownville have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Brownville 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 →