Allen Whitney Memorial Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation
702 acres10.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Manchester
16% of Manchester’s land is conserved: 2,219 acres
24 miles of mapped trail cross Manchester, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Allen Whitney Memorial Forest (10.2 mi), Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area (4.6 mi), Tyler Pond Wildlife Management Area (1.4 mi). 6% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
2,219 acres · of 21.4 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
68 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
633 ft
Allen Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
4 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Manchester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Manchester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Manchester is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Manchester’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (68 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home6% 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 70%
LessMore
Water is 5% of Manchester’s area (1 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
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 Allen Whitney Memorial Forest, with 10.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
907 acres4.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Jamies Pond
Tyler Pond Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
135 acres1.4 mi of trail
Tyler’s Pond Access TrailKeene’s Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hutchinson Pond
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
80 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Gannett Woods
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
72 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fairbanks Pond
Park
67 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Allen Whitney Memorial Forest702 acres · 10.2 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area907 acres · 4.6 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
DirectionsTyler Pond Wildlife Management Area135 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
Hutchinson Pond80 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Kennebec Land Trust
DirectionsGannett Woods72 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Kennebec Land Trust
Fairbanks Pond67 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
North Acres Wildlife Conservation Area130 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Wagner Woods Conservation Area66 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Who protects it
2,219 conserved acres
16% of Manchester’s land. Water is left out: Manchester has 21.4 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Manchester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,009 ac
State fish & wildlife972 ac
Other state land336 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)158 ac
Regional agency133 ac
State parks94 ac
Not recorded167 ac
State Conservation Area · 971 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 861 acAgricultural Easement · 473 acLocal Other or Unknown · 267 acConservation Easement · 263 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 250 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 23 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 | 877 | Closed |
| Allen Whitney Memorial Forest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 707 | Closed |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 134 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 133 | Unknown |
| Gannett Woods Private Conservation | Not recorded | 108 | Unknown |
| Tyler Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State parks | 94 | Closed |
| Hutchinson Pond Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 80 | Closed |
Things to do
9 places to go in Manchester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Manchester
Tyler’s Pond BeachIn Tyler Pond Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsPlus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Manchester
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Manchester
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Manchester
Allen Hill633 ft elevation · In Allen Whitney Memorial Forest
DirectionsLithgow Hill538 ft elevation
DirectionsMeadow Hill384 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Pipeline Trail1.7 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Sumer Haven0.7 mi
Tyler’s Pond Access Trail0.3 mi
Keene’s Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
6Tennis
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Manchester: 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) | 28 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 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 Manchester →
Next door
Manchester and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Augusta55 miBelgrade52 miManchester24 miReadfield16 miWinthrop11 miHallowell6.8 miWest Gardiner5.1 miFarmingdale0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | 16% | 1.1 | 28 | 6% | B+ |
| Augusta | 15% | 1.0 | 14 | 68% | A− |
| Farmingdale | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 52% | C− |
| Hallowell | 12% | 1.2 | 12 | 70% | A− |
| Readfield | 9% | 0.6 | 14 | 10% | B− |
| Winthrop | 8% | 0.3 | 5 | 17% | C+ |
| West Gardiner | 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Belgrade | 4% | 1.2 | 6 | 12% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Manchester
Where can I hike in Manchester?
The longest trail networks: Allen Whitney Memorial Forest, 10.2 miles; Jamies Pond Wildlife Management Area, 4.6 miles; Tyler Pond Wildlife Management Area, 1.4 miles; Hutchinson Pond, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Manchester is conserved land?
16% 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 Manchester’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Hutchinson Pond. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Manchester?
971 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Manchester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 68 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Manchester have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Manchester 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 →