Frenchboro Preserve
Managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
1,135 acres10.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Great Duck Island Light Station · Public domain–Not graded
Outdoors in Frenchboro
More than half of Frenchboro’s land is conserved: 88%
88% of Frenchboro’s land is conserved, about 2,684 acres. The biggest trail networks: Frenchboro Preserve (10.5 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Frenchboro, 2.5 per square mile of land.
Conserved land
88%
2,684 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
2.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
15 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Frenchboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 Frenchboro Preserve, with 10.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Placentia Island Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
551 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Eastern Maine Habitat Management Area
Managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
528 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pond Island Preserve
Managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
240 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Frenchboro Preserve1,135 acres · 10.5 mi of trail · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
DirectionsPlacentia Island Preserve551 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Eastern Maine Habitat Management Area528 acres · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Pond Island Preserve240 acres · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Black Island Preserve113 acres · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Alan E. Hutchinson Wildlife Management Area8 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Who protects it
2,684 conserved acres
88% of Frenchboro’s land. Water is left out: Frenchboro has 4.8 square miles of land and 83.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Frenchboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,320 ac
National Park Service641 ac
Joint238 ac
State fish & wildlife8 ac
Not recorded9 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 1,594 acPrivate Conservation · 945 acConservation Easement · 881 acState Conservation Area · 558 acUnknown Easement · 238 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 340 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchboro Long Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 933 | Restricted |
| Placentia Island Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 550 | Unknown |
| Placentia Island State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 550 | Restricted |
| Great Duck Island Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 395 | Unknown |
| Pond Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 239 | Closed |
| Rich's Head Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 188 | Closed |
| Black Island Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 113 | Closed |
| Little Duck Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 88 | Closed |
| Little Beach Frenchboro Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Unknown |
| Crow Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Frenchboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Frenchboro
Big Beach
DirectionsEastern BeachIn Frenchboro Preserve
DirectionsLittle Beach
DirectionsMiddle BeachIn Frenchboro Preserve
DirectionsSteamboat Beach
DirectionsWhale Beach
DirectionsPlus 9 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
1Basketball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Great Duck Island Light StationDistrict · listed 1988
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Frenchboro: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 33 | 40 | 51 | 61 | 70 | 76 | 76 | 68 | 56 | 46 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.1 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 5.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Frenchboro →
Next door
Frenchboro and its neighbors
Frenchboro has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Southwest Harbor29 miFrenchboro12 miTremont9.6 miCranberry Isles7.7 miBrooklin6.7 miSwans Island2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchboro | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Swans Island | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Tremont | 42% | 0.6 | 1,941 | 46% | A |
| Cranberry Isles | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Brooklin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Southwest Harbor | 56% | 2.2 | 2,952 | 84% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Frenchboro
Where can I hike in Frenchboro?
The longest trail networks: Frenchboro Preserve, 10.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
Are dogs allowed on Frenchboro’s trails?
Frenchboro Preserve and Placentia Island Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Frenchboro?
14,473 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Frenchboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Frenchboro 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 →