Mount Waldo Quarry
Park
111 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Frankfort Dam · Photo: DrStew82 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Frankfort
Frankfort has 125 acres of parks, 114 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Frankfort’s land is conserved, about 2,029 acres. The biggest trail networks: Mount Waldo Quarry (1.2 mi), Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area (0.9 mi), Mount Waldo Preserve (0.8 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,029 acres · of 24.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
125 ac
114 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.1 mi
Highest peak
1,050 ft
Mount Waldo
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Frankfort?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Frankfort have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Frankfort is ahead of 65% 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 Frankfort’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land114 acres of park per 1,000 residents (125 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home20% 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 65%
LessMore
Water is 5% of Frankfort’s area (1 of 26 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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
The longest trail network is Mount Waldo Quarry, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
182 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Mount Waldo Preserve
Managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
142 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Frankfort Town Forest
Nature preserve
1,494 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Mount Waldo Quarry111 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area182 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
DirectionsMount Waldo Preserve142 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Frankfort Town Forest1,494 acres
Mendall Marsh Park6 acres
DirectionsSwan Lake State Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,029 conserved acres
13% of Frankfort’s land. Water is left out: Frankfort has 24.6 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Frankfort’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency1,494 ac
State parks549 ac
State fish & wildlife185 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits131 ac
Not recorded1,582 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 2,987 acState Conservation Area · 273 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 266 acState Other or Unknown · 140 acUnknown Easement · 140 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 1,494 | Restricted |
| Frankfort Town Forest-9--2 Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 989 | Unknown |
| Frankfort Town Forest-9-9 Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 505 | Unknown |
| Mount Waldo Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 406 | Open |
| Howard Mendall Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 188 | Restricted |
| Howard L. Mendall Wma State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 85 | Unknown |
Things to do
12 places to go in Frankfort
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Frankfort
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Frankfort
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Frankfort
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Frankfort
Mount Waldo1,050 ft elevation
DirectionsDutch Mountain656 ft elevation
DirectionsMosquito Mountain568 ft elevation
DirectionsDelaware Mountain472 ft elevation
DirectionsDowns Hill463 ft elevation
DirectionsTown Farm Hill443 ft elevation
DirectionsHedgehog Mountain305 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Softball
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).
Frankfort DamStructure · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Frankfort: 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 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Frankfort →
Next door
Frankfort 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfort | 13% | 0.3 | 114 | 20% | B |
| Winterport | under 1% | 0.2 | 3 | 20% | D |
| Monroe | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Prospect | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bucksport | under 1% | 0.9 | 18 | 27% | C+ |
| Swanville | 7% | 0.2 | 63 | 2% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Frankfort
Where can I hike in Frankfort?
The longest trail networks: Mount Waldo Quarry, 1.2 miles; Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area, 0.9 miles; Mount Waldo Preserve, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Frankfort is conserved land?
13% 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 Frankfort’s trails?
Mount Waldo Quarry and Howard L. Mendall Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Frankfort?
6.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Frankfort?
1,035 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Frankfort or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 125 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Frankfort have?
Ahead of 65% 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 Frankfort 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 →