Virgil Parris Forest
Managed by Western Foothills Land Trust
1,107 acres7.6 mi of trail
Packard TrailLowell TrailCutoff
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Buckfield
8% of Buckfield’s land is conserved: 2,033 acres
The biggest trail networks: Virgil Parris Forest (7.6 mi), Jersey Bog Conservation Area (0.5 mi). 6% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
2,033 acres · of 37.5 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,385 ft
Owls Head
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Buckfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Buckfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Buckfield is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Buckfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home6% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 33%
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 Virgil Parris Forest, with 7.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jersey Bog Conservation Area
Nature preserve
292 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Everett Towle Forest
Nature preserve
177 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Drew Brook Forest
Nature preserve
127 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Virgil Parris Forest1,107 acres · 7.6 mi of trail · Western Foothills Land Trust
DirectionsJersey Bog Conservation Area292 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Everett Towle Forest177 acres
Drew Brook Forest127 acres
Buckfield Memorial Recreation Park5 acres · Town of Buckfield
Who protects it
2,033 conserved acres
8% of Buckfield’s land. Who manages Buckfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,622 ac
Regional agency42 ac
State fish & wildlife13 ac
Not recorded193 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 1,521 acUnknown Easement · 604 acConservation Easement · 484 acPrivate Conservation · 210 acLocal Other or Unknown · 51 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 304 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgil Parris Forest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,072 | Restricted |
| Jersey Bog Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 271 | Restricted |
| Ackley Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 199 | Restricted |
| DrewBrook Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 133 | Unknown |
| Nezinscott Industries Inc. Lot Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 42 | Closed |
| Keene Orchard Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Closed |
| Miclon Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Restricted |
| South Pond Conservation Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
| Town Ownership Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
Things to do
12 places to go in Buckfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Buckfield
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Buckfield
Owls Head1,385 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill1,365 ft elevation
DirectionsTurner Hill1,184 ft elevation
DirectionsHammond Ledge961 ft elevation
DirectionsNorth Hill682 ft elevation
DirectionsWarren Hill669 ft elevation
DirectionsWhitman Hill669 ft elevation · In Virgil Parris Forest
DirectionsSouth Hill640 ft elevation
Directions2 more peaks
Irish Hill610 ft elevation
DirectionsDeans Hill607 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Buckfield
Community Room
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Packard Trail1.9 mi
Lowell Trail1.2 mi
Snowmobile ITS 890.2 mi
Cutoff0.2 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
4Baseball
2Soccer
1Football
1Basketball
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Buckfield: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Buckfield →
Next door
Buckfield and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Buckfield
Where can I hike in Buckfield?
The longest trail networks: Virgil Parris Forest, 7.6 miles; Jersey Bog Conservation Area, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Buckfield is conserved land?
8% 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 Buckfield’s trails?
Virgil Parris Forest and Jersey Bog Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Buckfield?
795 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Buckfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Buckfield have?
Ahead of 33% 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 Buckfield 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 →