Academy Hill Conservation Area
Managed by Androscoggin Land Trust
401 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Canton
Canton has 82 acres of parks, 69 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Canton’s land is conserved, about 1,646 acres. 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 13 miles of mapped trail cross Canton, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,646 acres · of 29.1 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
82 ac
69 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,549 ft
Canton Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Canton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Canton is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Canton’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land69 acres of park per 1,000 residents (82 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home42% 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 71%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Alden Hill Conservation Area
Managed by Androscoggin Land Trust
306 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Canton Rivershore Conservation Area
Managed by Androscoggin Land Trust
249 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stevens Island Rivershore Preserve
Managed by Androscoggin Land Trust
237 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Academy Hill Conservation Area401 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
Alden Hill Conservation Area306 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
Canton Rivershore Conservation Area249 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
DirectionsStevens Island Rivershore Preserve237 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
LeBlanc Rivershore Preserve7 acres · Androscoggin Land Trust
Donald E. Hutchins Memorial Ballfield5 acres
Who protects it
1,646 conserved acres
9% of Canton’s land. Who manages Canton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,626 ac
Regional agency137 ac
State fish & wildlife57 ac
State parks19 ac
Regional Water Districts11 ac
Not recorded1,173 ac
Private Conservation · 1,285 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1,182 acLocal Other or Unknown · 285 acConservation Easement · 205 acState Other or Unknown · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 32 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| AcademyHill Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 392 | Closed |
| Academy Hill Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 383 | Closed |
| AldenHill Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 303 | Closed |
| Stevens Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 247 | Closed |
| CantonRivershore Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 241 | Closed |
| Androscoggin Land Trust Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 180 | Closed |
| Alden Hill Private Conservation | Not recorded | 177 | Unknown |
| ALT-Si & Rivershore Private Conservation | Not recorded | 172 | Unknown |
| Wilder Waters Community Private Conservation | Not recorded | 170 | Restricted |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 131 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Canton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Canton
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Canton
Canton Mountain1,549 ft elevation
DirectionsFish Hill1,122 ft elevation
DirectionsAcademy Hill922 ft elevation · In Academy Hill Conservation Area
DirectionsJewett Hill909 ft elevation
DirectionsMcCollister Hill902 ft elevation
DirectionsWhitney Hill892 ft elevation
DirectionsStaples Hill804 ft elevation
DirectionsDunn Ledge709 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.2 miUnpaved · 9.2 mi
ITS 897.1 mi
Snowmobile ITS 892.0 mi
Whitney Brook Trail1.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Canton: 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) | 27 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Canton →
Next door
Canton and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | 9% | 0.5 | 69 | 42% | B+ |
| Peru | under 1% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Jay | 3% | 0.6 | 41 | 35% | B |
| Hartford | 1% | 0.4 | 6 | 3% | C− |
| Livermore | 4% | 0.1 | 9 | 12% | C |
| Dixfield | under 1% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Canton
How much of Canton is conserved land?
9% 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 Canton’s trails?
Academy Hill Conservation Area and Alden Hill Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Canton?
779 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Canton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 82 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Canton have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Canton 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 →