Weston Woods & Waters
Managed by Somerset Woods Trustees
365 acres4.9 mi of trail
Weston Woods LoopWinter TrailNorth LoopSnowmobile Trail 46
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lakewood Theater · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison
Madison has 66 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Weston Woods & Waters (4.9 mi). 1% of Madison’s land is conserved, about 405 acres. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #95 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
405 acres · of 51.9 sq mi of land
Trails
66 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
Highest peak
692 ft
Eames Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Madison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #95 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (66 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home40% 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 47%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 34%
Water is 5% of Madison’s area (3 of 55 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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 Weston Woods & Waters, with 4.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jackson Woods
Managed by Somerset Woods Trustees
201 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Jacobs Pines
Managed by Somerset Woods Trustees
53 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Preble Avenue Recreational Facility
Park
41 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Weston Woods & Waters365 acres · 4.9 mi of trail · Somerset Woods Trustees
Preble Avenue Recreational Facility41 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Jackson Woods201 acres · Somerset Woods Trustees
Jacobs Pines53 acres · Somerset Woods Trustees
Lakewood Road Lots29 acres
Thompson / Dinsmore Island20 acres
Thomas Field3 acres
Maint Street Park & Playground1 acres
DirectionsDillon Family Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
405 conserved acres
1% of Madison’s land. Water is left out: Madison has 51.9 square miles of land and 2.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks501 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits166 ac
Regional agency38 ac
Unknown Easement · 271 acConservation Easement · 248 acAgricultural Easement · 128 acLocal Other or Unknown · 38 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 347 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob's Pines Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 38 | Unknown |
| Thompson/Dinsmore Islands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Closed |
| Thopson/Dinsomore Islands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Closed |
Things to do
9 places to go in Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Madison
Nathan Street Boat Landing
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Madison
Eames Hill692 ft elevation
DirectionsThurston Hill679 ft elevation
DirectionsWard Hill676 ft elevation
DirectionsBlackwell Hill653 ft elevation
DirectionsRobbins Hill636 ft elevation
DirectionsRowell Hill479 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
17 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Snowmobile ITS 8713.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail 2711.6 mi
Snowmobile Trail 466.5 mi
Snowmobile Trail 483.3 mi
Weston Woods Loop2.8 mi
Snowmobile Trail 442.7 mi
Snowmobile ITS 87 / Trail 272.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail 48B Wesserunsett Lake2.3 mi
Snowmobile Trail 242.2 mi
Snowmobile Trail 221.7 mi
7 more trails
River Trail
1.2 miSnowmobile ITS 113 Connector
1.2 miSnowmobile Bunny Trail 29
1.2 miWinter Trail
0.4 miPatterson Bridge
0.4 miNorth Loop
0.4 miElementary School Trail
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
5Softball
4Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
1Equestrian
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 Madison: 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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 52 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Madison →
Next door
Madison and its neighbors
Madison has the most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 1% | 1.3 | 10 | 40% | B− |
| Anson | under 1% | 0.4 | under 1 | 12% | D |
| Norridgewock | 1% | 0.7 | 4 | 10% | C− |
| Starks | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Solon | 2% | 0.6 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Skowhegan | 6% | 0.9 | 30 | 57% | A− |
| Cornville | 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison
Where can I hike in Madison?
The longest trail networks: Weston Woods & Waters, 4.9 miles; Preble Avenue Recreational Facility, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison is conserved land?
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 Madison’s trails?
Weston Woods & Waters and Jackson Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Madison?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Madison?
494 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #95 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 Madison 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 →