Community Park
Park
27 acres0.7 mi of trail
Community Park Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Houlton
Houlton has 22 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Community Park (0.7 mi). 40 acres are parks and preserves, 6.6 per 1,000 residents. 55% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns · #117 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
72 acres · of 36.7 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
6.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.9 mi paths
Highest peak
791 ft
Hovey Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Houlton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Houlton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Houlton is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #117 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Houlton’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land6.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home55% 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 35%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 18%
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 Community Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverfront Park
Park
5 acres0.4 mi of trail
Riverfront Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Monument Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Houlton Public Boat Access
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Community Park27 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverfront Park5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMonument Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Houlton Public Boat Access1 acres
Pierce Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
72 conserved acres
under 1% of Houlton’s land. Who manages Houlton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks40 ac
Town or city32 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
State Recreation Area · 40 acLocal Park · 32 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Aroostook State Recreation Area | State parks | 40 | Closed |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| River Front Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Monument Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Just For Kids Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Pleasant Parl Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Burleigh Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Houlton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Houlton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Houlton
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Houlton
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
ATV Trail0.9 mi
Community Park Walking Path0.6 mi
Riverfront Walking Path0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
3Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
First National Bank of HoultonBuilding · listed 1973
About itBlackhawk Putnam TavernBuilding · listed 1976
About itWhite Memorial BuildingBuilding · listed 1980
About itMarket Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itAmazeen HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itEdward L. Cleveland HouseBuilding · listed 1987
About itCary LibraryBuilding · listed 1987
About itUnitarian Church of HoultonBuilding · listed 1987
About itAroostook County Courthouse and JailBuilding · listed 1990
About itWalter P. Mansur HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itWing Family CemeterySite · listed 1991
About itDonovan-Hussey Farms Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Houlton: 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 26 | 37 | 50 | 64 | 73 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 41 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Houlton →
Next door
Houlton and its neighbors
Houlton has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houlton | under 1% | 0.6 | 7 | 55% | C+ |
| Ludlow | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hodgdon | 10% | 0.2 | under 1 | 1% | C |
| Littleton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| New Limerick | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Houlton
Where can I hike in Houlton?
The longest trail networks: Community Park, 0.7 miles; Riverfront Park, 0.4 miles; Monument Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Houlton is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Houlton’s trails?
Community Park and Riverfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Houlton?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Houlton?
74 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Houlton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Houlton have?
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #117 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 Houlton 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 →