Hatchet Mountain Preserve
Managed by Coastal Mountains Land Trust
32 acres0.6 mi of trail
Hatchet Mountain Preserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Hope
Few parks or trails are on the map in Hope
The biggest trail networks: Hatchet Mountain Preserve (0.6 mi). 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Hope, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
610 acres · of 22.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
18 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,083 ft
Hatchet Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hope have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hope is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hope’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (18 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home16% 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 32%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Hope’s area (2 of 24 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Hatchet Mountain Preserve, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bald Mountain Preserve
Managed by Coastal Mountains Land Trust
137 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Mirror Lake Conservation Easement
Nature preserve
109 acres0.2 mi of trail
RMT TrailThorndike Brook Trail (Georges Highland Path)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Grassy Pond Conservation Easement
Nature preserve
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Hatchet Mountain Preserve32 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Coastal Mountains Land Trust
DirectionsMirror Lake Conservation Easement109 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Bald Mountain Preserve137 acres · Coastal Mountains Land Trust
DirectionsGrassy Pond Conservation Easement24 acres
True Park13 acres
Ragged Mountain Preserve2 acres · Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Who protects it
610 conserved acres
4% of Hope’s land. Water is left out: Hope has 22.0 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hope’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,016 ac
Joint20 ac
Not recorded145 ac
Unknown Easement · 415 acConservation Easement · 306 acPrivate Conservation · 218 acAgricultural Easement · 124 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 116 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 416 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Mountain Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 150 | Unknown |
| Bald and Ragged Mountains of Penobscot Bay Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 71 | Closed |
| Bald And Ragged Mtns Private Conservation | Not recorded | 68 | Unknown |
| Hatchet Mountain Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Closed |
| Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 15 | Restricted |
Things to do
10 places to go in Hope
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Hope
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Hope
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Hope
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Hope
Hatchet Mountain1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsSimmons Hill945 ft elevation
DirectionsPhilbrick Mountain932 ft elevation
DirectionsJones Hill925 ft elevation
DirectionsGurney Hill561 ft elevation
DirectionsWiley Hill466 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Hope
Camp BishopswoodFee
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Hatchet Mountain Preserve Trail0.6 mi
RMT Trail0.1 mi
Thorndike Brook Trail (Georges Highland Path)0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Hope: 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) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 52 | 63 | 71 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 57 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
July is the driest month (3.3 in) and the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Hope →
Next door
Hope 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hope | 4% | 0.1 | 10 | 16% | C |
| Appleton | 14% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Lincolnville | 27% | 0.9 | 1,490 | 40% | A |
| Union | 6% | 0.2 | 15 | 13% | C+ |
| Camden | 35% | 1.9 | 526 | 82% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hope
Where can I hike in Hope?
The longest trail networks: Hatchet Mountain Preserve, 0.6 miles; Mirror Lake Conservation Easement, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hope is conserved land?
4% 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 Hope’s trails?
Hatchet Mountain Preserve and Bald Mountain Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hope?
7,615 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hope or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hope have?
Ahead of 32% 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 Hope 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 →