Harrison Avenue Nature Trail
Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Harrison Avenue Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gardiner
Gardiner has 19 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
34 acres are parks and preserves, 5.7 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Gardiner’s land is conserved, about 202 acres. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #79 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
202 acres · of 15.7 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
34 ac
5.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
302 ft
Iron Mine Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Gardiner?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gardiner have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gardiner is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #79 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gardiner’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land5.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (34 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home66% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 53%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 45%
Water is 5% of Gardiner’s area (1 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 Harrison Avenue Nature Trail, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
13 acres0.1 mi of trail
Harrison Avenue Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Johnson Field
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Harrison Avenue Nature Trail5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCobbossee Stream Conservation Area13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Kennebec Land Trust
DirectionsWaterfront Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGardiner Common3 acres
DirectionsJohnson Field2 acres
Who protects it
202 conserved acres
2% of Gardiner’s land. Water is left out: Gardiner has 15.7 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gardiner’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency148 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits60 ac
Town or city10 ac
Other state land5 ac
Regional Water Districts2 ac
Not recorded145 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 289 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 24 acUnknown Easement · 20 acConservation Easement · 19 acLocal Recreation Area · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 20 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 146 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 137 | Unknown |
| Rolling Dam Brook Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Closed |
| Lincoln Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Cobbossee Stream-033081 Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| The Gardiner Common Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Gardiner-Kennebec Water Access Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 5 | Restricted |
| Kennebec River State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 4 | Closed |
| 033083A Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Kennebec River Rail Trail Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Gardiner
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gardiner
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gardiner
Gardiner Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Gardiner
Gardiner Launch
DirectionsGardiner Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Gardiner
Iron Mine Hill302 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Snowmobile Gardiner Trail4.7 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29 Gardiner4.7 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29a Gardiner3.4 mi
Snowmobile South Gardiner Trail1.4 mi
Snowmobile Windy Acres Gardiner0.8 mi
Snowmobile Gardiner Parts/Supplies0.6 mi
Snowmobile Trail 4AB/120 Gardiner0.6 mi
Snowmobile Gardiner Food & Gas0.6 mi
Harrison Avenue Nature Trail0.5 mi
East Coast Greenway Trail0.3 mi
3 more trails
Fire Road 13
0.1 miFire Road 14
0.1 miMaine Bureau of Insurance Park Path
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
4Baseball
2Soccer
2Basketball
1Field hockey
1Softball
1Football
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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 Gardiner: 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) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Gardiner →
Next door
Gardiner and its neighbors
Gardiner has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardiner | 2% | 1.2 | 6 | 66% | B− |
| West Gardiner | 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Pittston | under 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 6% | D |
| Farmingdale | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 52% | C− |
| Litchfield | 3% | 0.4 | 56 | 18% | B− |
| Randolph | under 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | 28% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gardiner
Where can I hike in Gardiner?
The longest trail networks: Harrison Avenue Nature Trail, 0.3 miles; Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gardiner is conserved land?
2% 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 Gardiner’s trails?
Harrison Avenue Nature Trail and Cobbossee Stream Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gardiner?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gardiner?
985 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gardiner or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 34 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gardiner have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #79 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 Gardiner 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 →