Vaughan Woods
Nature preserve
161 acres2.4 mi of trail
Vaughn Brook Dam Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hallowell
Hallowell has 6.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
12% of Hallowell’s land is conserved, about 459 acres. The biggest trail networks: Vaughan Woods (2.4 mi). 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #24 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
459 acres · of 5.9 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.5 mi
2.5 mi paths
Highest peak
518 ft
Granite Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hallowell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hallowell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hallowell is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #24 of 143 in Maine. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hallowell’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home70% 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 78%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 84%
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 Vaughan Woods, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
180 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Effie L. Berry Conservation Area
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hall-Dale Little League Fields
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Vaughan Woods161 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
DirectionsJamies Pond Wildlife Management Area180 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
DirectionsEffie L. Berry Conservation Area7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Kennebec Land Trust
Vaughan Field Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Granite City Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHall-Dale Little League Fields17 acres
Howard Hill Conservation Area2 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Who protects it
459 conserved acres
12% of Hallowell’s land. Who manages Hallowell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits330 ac
State fish & wildlife185 ac
State conservation65 ac
Town or city14 ac
State parks10 ac
Other state land7 ac
Regional agency7 ac
State Conservation Area · 185 acUnknown Easement · 178 acConservation Easement · 152 acState Resource Management Area · 65 acLocal Park · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 172 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamies (Jimmie) Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 185 | Restricted |
| Hallowell Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 72 | Closed |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Kennebec River Rail Trail Private Conservation | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Faughan Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Island State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Howard Hill Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 3 | Closed |
| Hallowell Waterfront Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Boat Launch Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
11 places to go in Hallowell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hallowell
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Hallowell
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Hallowell
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Hallowell
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Hallowell
Granite Hill518 ft elevation
DirectionsPerkins Hill338 ft elevation · In Vaughan Woods
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Pipeline Trail0.9 mi
Snowmobile Trail;Quarry Trail0.6 mi
Vaughn Brook Dam Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Row HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itElm Hill FarmBuilding · listed 1970
About itVaughan HomesteadBuilding · listed 1970
About itHallowell Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1970
About itPowder House LotBuilding · listed 2002
About itMaine Industrial School for Girls Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2003
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hallowell: May and July 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) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 4.1 |
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 Hallowell →
Next door
Hallowell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallowell | 12% | 1.2 | 12 | 70% | A− |
| Farmingdale | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 52% | C− |
| Manchester | 16% | 1.1 | 28 | 6% | B+ |
| Chelsea | 3% | 0.4 | 1 | 11% | C |
| Augusta | 15% | 1.0 | 14 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hallowell
Where can I hike in Hallowell?
The longest trail networks: Vaughan Woods, 2.4 miles; Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area, 0.4 miles; Effie L. Berry Conservation Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hallowell is conserved land?
12% 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 Hallowell’s trails?
Vaughan Woods and Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hallowell?
2.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hallowell?
848 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hallowell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 96 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hallowell have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 Hallowell 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 →