Butternut Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Chelsea
Chelsea has 8.0 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
2 acres are parks and preserves, 0.7 per 1,000 residents. 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Chelsea’s land is conserved, about 436 acres.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns · #129 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
436 acres · of 19.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2 ac
0.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
381 ft
Winter Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Chelsea?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chelsea have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chelsea is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #129 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chelsea’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13DParks close to home11% 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 25%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 10%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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.
Judy Kane Preserve
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
436 conserved acres
3% of Chelsea’s land. Who manages Chelsea’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Federal Land430 ac
Regional agency5 ac
Federal Other or Unknown · 430 acLocal Other or Unknown · 3 acLocal Park · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| US NATL. CEMETERY (Togus Med. C.) Federal Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 430 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 3 | Unknown |
| Butternut Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Chelsea
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chelsea
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Chelsea
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Chelsea
Winter Hill381 ft elevation
DirectionsHunts Hill243 ft elevation
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Chelsea
Whole Health Victory GardenVA Whole Health
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Pine Grove0.4 mi
Pine Grove Trail0.2 mi
Greeley Brook Trail0.2 mi
Foggy Bottom Trail0.2 mi
Kennebec Central Railroad0.2 mi
Purple Heart0.1 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
1Tennis
1Soccer
1Baseball
1Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Chelsea: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Chelsea →
Next door
Chelsea and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Augusta55 miWhitefield16 miChelsea8.0 miHallowell6.8 miPittston2.9 miRandolph1.7 miFarmingdale0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 3% | 0.4 | 1 | 11% | C |
| Hallowell | 12% | 1.2 | 12 | 70% | A− |
| Farmingdale | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 52% | C− |
| Pittston | under 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 6% | D |
| Randolph | under 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | 28% | C− |
| Augusta | 15% | 1.0 | 14 | 68% | A− |
| Whitefield | 6% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chelsea
How much of Chelsea is conserved land?
3% 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 Chelsea’s trails?
Butternut Park and Judy Kane Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chelsea?
1,149 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chelsea or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chelsea have?
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #129 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 Chelsea 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 →