Forbes Pond Preserve
Managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
989 acres3 mi of trail
Forbes Pond TrailForbes Pond Preserve
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: James H. Fisher, Hancock County Planning Commission; color-corrected by Howcheng · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gouldsboro
Gouldsboro has 394 acres of parks, 244 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Gouldsboro’s land is conserved, about 6,209 acres. The biggest trail networks: Forbes Pond Preserve (3 mi), Day Ridges Preserve (3 mi), Acadia National Park (1.7 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,209 acres · of 46.3 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
394 ac
244 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
259 ft
Winn Joy Mountain
Lakes & rivers
17
5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Gouldsboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gouldsboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gouldsboro is ahead of 74% 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 Gouldsboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land244 acres of park per 1,000 residents (394 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home18% 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 74%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Gouldsboro’s area (53 of 99 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 Forbes Pond Preserve, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Day Ridges Preserve
Managed by Frenchman Bay Conservancy
300 acres3 mi of trail
White TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Acadia National Park
Managed by National Park Service
323 acres1.7 mi of trail
Bar Island TrailGlacial Rock Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Taft Point Preserve
Managed by Frenchman Bay Conservancy
74 acres1.4 mi of trail
Flander's Bay TrailTaft Point Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
815 acres1 mi of trail
Salt Marsh Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Corea Heath Preserve
Managed by USFW
599 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Schoodic Forest
Managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust
147 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Forbes Pond Preserve989 acres · 3 mi of trail · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Day Ridges Preserve300 acres · 3 mi of trail · Frenchman Bay Conservancy
DirectionsAcadia National Park323 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsTaft Point Preserve74 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge815 acres · 1 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsCorea Heath Preserve599 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · USFW
DirectionsSchoodic Forest147 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Frances B. Wood Preserve422 acres · Frenchman Bay Conservancy
DirectionsStave Island Preserve123 acres · Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Jones Pond Recreation Area15 acres
DirectionsGouldsboro Town Park1 acres
Who protects it
6,209 conserved acres
21% of Gouldsboro’s land. Water is left out: Gouldsboro has 46.3 square miles of land and 52.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gouldsboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,460 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2,159 ac
National Park Service467 ac
Regional agency101 ac
State parks56 ac
State fish & wildlife3 ac
Other state land1 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 2,159 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1,701 acConservation Easement · 1,505 acPrivate Conservation · 1,327 acUnknown Easement · 1,217 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,546 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 34 of 68 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,159 | Restricted |
| Forbes Pond Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 976 | Open |
| Northern Corea Heath Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 598 | Closed |
| Frances B. Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 423 | Restricted |
| Acadia National Park National Park | National Park Service | 343 | Open |
| Day Ridges Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 300 | Closed |
| Upper West Bay Pond Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 253 | Restricted |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 153 | Unknown |
| Schoodic Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 147 | Unknown |
| Stave Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 83 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Gouldsboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Gouldsboro
5 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gouldsboro
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Gouldsboro
Winn Joy Mountain259 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Cromer144 ft elevation · In Forbes Pond Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Gouldsboro
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Forbes Pond Trail1.4 mi
Forbes Pond Preserve1.3 mi
White Trail1.0 mi
Salt Marsh Trail0.9 mi
Flander's Bay Trail0.8 mi
Blue Trail0.7 mi
Bar Island Trail0.6 mi
Taft Point Trail0.4 mi
Glacial Rock Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & 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
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gouldsboro: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 40 | 52 | 63 | 71 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 56 | 46 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Gouldsboro →
Next door
Gouldsboro 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gouldsboro | 21% | 0.4 | 244 | 18% | B+ |
| Steuben | 9% | 0.3 | 12 | 4% | C+ |
| Winter Harbor | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bar Harbor | 56% | 2.0 | 2,480 | 74% | A+ |
| Sorrento | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sullivan | 17% | 0.6 | 37 | 13% | B+ |
| Hancock | 18% | 0.7 | 13 | 14% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gouldsboro
Where can I hike in Gouldsboro?
The longest trail networks: Forbes Pond Preserve, 3 miles; Day Ridges Preserve, 3 miles; Acadia National Park, 1.7 miles; Taft Point Preserve, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gouldsboro is conserved land?
21% 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 Gouldsboro’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Acadia National Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gouldsboro?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gouldsboro?
34,347 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gouldsboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 394 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gouldsboro have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Gouldsboro 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 →