Fort Kent Outdoor Center
Park
177 acres5.4 mi of trail
Ridge RunnerAndrew's TrailEvergreen ChallengeEast Ridge Trail+1
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Fort Kent
Fort Kent has 90 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
216 acres are parks and preserves, 52 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Fort Kent Outdoor Center (5.4 mi), Riverside Park (0.7 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #59 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
100 acres · of 54.1 sq mi of land
Trails
90 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
216 ac
52 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.7 mi
6.7 mi paths
Highest peak
1,430 ft
Bossy Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Fort Kent?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fort Kent have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fort Kent is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #59 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Kent’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%C−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (90 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land52 acres of park per 1,000 residents (216 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home45% 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 60%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 59%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
The longest trail network is Fort Kent Outdoor Center, with 5.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverside Park
Park
17 acres0.7 mi of trail
Riverside North
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Jalbert Park
Park
18 acres0.3 mi of trail
Jalbert Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fairlawn
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Parkway
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Fort Kent Outdoor Center177 acres · 5.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park17 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsJalbert Park18 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFairlawn1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Black Lake Boat Access1 acres
Who protects it
100 conserved acres
under 1% of Fort Kent’s land. Who manages Fort Kent’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks159 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits13 ac
Conservation Easement · 72 acUnknown Easement · 72 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 13 acLocal Other or Unknown · 10 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 72 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish River Island Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 10 | Closed |
| Map 18 Lot 98 Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
| Fort Kent State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 3 | Closed |
| Map 18 Lot 26A Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Closed |
| Map 2 Lot 87 Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Closed |
| Black Lake Boating Access State Park | State parks | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
14 places to go in Fort Kent
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Fort Kent
Franklin Pool
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Fort Kent
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fort Kent
Black Lack Boat LaunchIn Black Lake Boat Access
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Fort Kent
Fish River Falls
DirectionsPeaks in Fort Kent
Bossy Mountain1,430 ft elevation
DirectionsPinette Hill1,250 ft elevation
DirectionsGlass Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsStevens Hill978 ft elevation · In Fort Kent Outdoor Center
DirectionsPicnic areas in Fort Kent
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.0 miUnpaved · 8.8 mi
Snowmobile ITS 856.8 mi
Trial and Error1.3 mi
Ridge Runner1.1 mi
Andrew's Trail1.1 mi
Warrior Trail0.8 mi
Evergreen Challenge0.8 mi
Riverside South0.7 mi
Lonesome Pine Trail East0.7 mi
Bigiljeck Trail0.6 mi
Lonesome Pine Trail West0.5 mi
15 more trails
Winter Spin
0.5 miFish River Falls Trail
0.5 miPodgorski Trail
0.5 miRidge Trail
0.5 miEast Ridge Trail
0.5 miIsland Trail
0.4 miSwamp Loop
0.4 miJalbert Park Trail
0.3 miCrocker Beach Trail
0.3 miChain Break
0.2 miRed Barn Trail South
0.2 miRed Barn Trail North
0.2 miBob's Trail
0.2 miScout Trail
0.2 miParkway
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Soccer
4Tennis
3Baseball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Fort Kent: May, August and 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 19 | 23 | 33 | 46 | 62 | 71 | 76 | 75 | 66 | 52 | 38 | 26 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Fort Kent →
Next door
Fort Kent and its neighbors
Fort Kent has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Kent | under 1% | 1.7 | 52 | 45% | B |
| Frenchville | under 1% | 2.0 | 9 | 24% | C+ |
| New Canada | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wallagrass | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fort Kent
Where can I hike in Fort Kent?
The longest trail networks: Fort Kent Outdoor Center, 5.4 miles; Riverside Park, 0.7 miles; Jalbert Park, 0.3 miles; Fairlawn, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fort Kent is conserved land?
under 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 Fort Kent’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Fort Kent Outdoor Center. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fort Kent?
6.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Fort Kent?
416 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fort Kent or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 216 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fort Kent have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #59 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 Fort Kent 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 →