Salmon Falls Reserve
Nature preserve
14 acres0.4 mi of trail
Salmon Falls Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Old Grist Mill · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Lebanon
Lebanon has 25 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 23 acres are parks and preserves, 3.5 per 1,000 residents. 3% of Lebanon’s land is conserved, about 1,088 acres.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #125 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,088 acres · of 55.0 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
23 ac
3.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
10
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lebanon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lebanon is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #125 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lebanon’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (23 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 28%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 13%
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 Salmon Falls Reserve, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lebanon Community Forest
Nature preserve
255 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nesbitt Pond Natural Area
Nature preserve
34 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fernald Shore Recreation Area
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Salmon Falls Reserve14 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLebanon Community Forest255 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Nesbitt Pond Natural Area34 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Fernald Shore Recreation Area12 acres
Stewarts Field3 acres
Who protects it
1,088 conserved acres
3% of Lebanon’s land. Who manages Lebanon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,252 ac
State parks870 ac
Not recorded26 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,089 acAgricultural Easement · 539 acUnknown Easement · 494 acPrivate Conservation · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,062 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 33 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deering Watershed Headwaters Private Conservation | Not recorded | 26 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Lebanon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lebanon
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lebanon
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 15.8 mi
Snowmobile ITS 890.4 mi
Salmon Falls Trail0.4 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
4Baseball
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Lebanon: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lebanon →
Next door
Lebanon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | 3% | 0.5 | 4 | 4% | C |
| Berwick | 7% | 1.3 | 4 | 30% | B− |
| Sanford | 10% | 1.4 | 4 | 51% | B |
| Acton | 3% | 0.8 | 26 | 5% | B− |
| North Berwick | 5% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lebanon
Where can I hike in Lebanon?
The longest trail networks: Salmon Falls Reserve, 0.4 miles; Lebanon Community Forest, 0.2 miles; Nesbitt Pond Natural Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lebanon is conserved land?
3% 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 Lebanon’s trails?
Salmon Falls Reserve and Lebanon Community Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lebanon?
6,176 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lebanon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lebanon have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #125 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 Lebanon 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 →