Kiski Lot Trails
Nature preserve
586 acres2.4 mi of trail
Overlook TrailBull Run
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Dedham
8% of Dedham’s land is conserved: 1,909 acres
The biggest trail networks: Kiski Lot Trails (2.4 mi). 19 miles of mapped trail cross Dedham, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,909 acres · of 39.3 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
Highest peak
1,122 ft
Bald Mountain
Lakes & rivers
12
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dedham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dedham is ahead of 26% 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 Dedham’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 26%
LessMore
Water is 11% of Dedham’s area (5 of 44 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
The longest trail network is Kiski Lot Trails, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bangor Water Supply Lands
Managed by Bangor Water
196 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,909 conserved acres
8% of Dedham’s land. Water is left out: Dedham has 39.3 square miles of land and 5.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Dedham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,634 ac
Regional Water Districts53 ac
Regional agency34 ac
Not recorded39 ac
Unknown Easement · 1,817 acConservation Easement · 1,643 acAgricultural Easement · 175 acLocal Other or Unknown · 68 acWatershed Protection Area · 53 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,817 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor Water District Lands Watershed Protection Area | Regional Water Districts | 53 | Closed |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 34 | Unknown |
| Fitts Pond Private Conservation | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Dedham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Dedham
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Dedham
Bald Mountain1,122 ft elevation
DirectionsBig Hill1,109 ft elevation
DirectionsPeaked Mountain846 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill597 ft elevation
DirectionsChase Mountain564 ft elevation
DirectionsButton Hill427 ft elevation
DirectionsFitz Mountain325 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Snowmobile Dedham Trail9.3 mi
Overlook Trail0.5 mi
Bull Run0.2 mi
Fire Road 610.2 mi
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Lucerne InnBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Dedham: 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 | 15.6 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 52 | 65 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
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 Dedham →
Next door
Dedham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedham | 8% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Ellsworth | 10% | 0.4 | 214 | 35% | B+ |
| Otis | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Orland | 16% | 0.9 | 6 | 11% | B− |
| Bucksport | under 1% | 0.9 | 18 | 27% | C+ |
| Holden | 1% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Eddington | 16% | 0.4 | under 1 | 4% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dedham
Where can I hike in Dedham?
The longest trail networks: Kiski Lot Trails, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dedham 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 Dedham’s trails?
Kiski Lot Trails and Bangor Water Supply Lands don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dedham?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Dedham?
5,365 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dedham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dedham have?
Ahead of 26% 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 Dedham 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 →