Dodge Point Preserve
Nature preserve
505 acres6.1 mi of trail
Ravine TrailShore TrailTimber TrailRiver Link
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Dodge Point Preserve Parking Lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Newcastle
17% of Newcastle’s land is conserved: 3,231 acres
73 acres are parks and preserves, 38 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Dodge Point Preserve (6.1 mi), Griggs Preserve (1.5 mi), Baker Forest (0.7 mi). 19 miles of mapped trail cross Newcastle, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
3,231 acres · of 29.1 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
73 ac
38 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
348 ft
Hunt Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Newcastle?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Newcastle have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newcastle is ahead of 73% 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 Newcastle’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land38 acres of park per 1,000 residents (73 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home28% 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 73%
LessMore
Water is 11% of Newcastle’s area (4 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
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 Dodge Point Preserve, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Griggs Preserve
Managed by Midcoast Conservancy
56 acres1.5 mi of trail
White Shad RunBlue Heron LegRed Salmon Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Baker Forest
Managed by Damariscotta River Association
149 acres0.7 mi of trail
Blue LoopOrange LoopUnmaintained Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sherman Lake Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
105 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mills Overlook Preserve
Managed by Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
16 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 20 parks & preserves
Dodge Point Preserve505 acres · 6.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGriggs Preserve56 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Midcoast Conservancy
DirectionsBaker Forest149 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Damariscotta River Association
Sherman Lake Wildlife Management Area105 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Mills Overlook Preserve16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
DirectionsDavidson Preserve93 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Rocky Ridge Preserve4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Tipping Rock Preserve112 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Reverend Joseph Barth Memorial Demonstration and Experimental Forest90 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
Glidden Point Preserve85 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Bass Falls Preserve80 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
Marsh River Preserve70 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
Schaller Preserve64 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Marsh River Bog58 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Aranyani Santuary41 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
Coggeshall Preserve31 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
F. Cunningham Preserve26 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
O'Brien Preserve23 acres · Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Sherman Lake Picnic Area17 acres
Bird Playground10 acres
Who protects it
3,231 conserved acres
17% of Newcastle’s land. Water is left out: Newcastle has 29.1 square miles of land and 3.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Newcastle’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,871 ac
State fish & wildlife1,619 ac
State parks536 ac
Regional agency74 ac
Other state land16 ac
State conservation5 ac
Not recorded270 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,909 acUnknown Easement · 1,468 acLocal Other or Unknown · 675 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 661 acPrivate Conservation · 398 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,423 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 44 of 102 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge Point Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 529 | Restricted |
| Baker Forest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 148 | Restricted |
| Guptill Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 123 | Closed |
| River Link North Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 112 | Restricted |
| Sherman Lake Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 102 | Closed |
| RiverLink Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 101 | Closed |
| Salt Bay Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 92 | Restricted |
| Heart of the Watershed Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 80 | Closed |
| Heart of the Watershed Barth Parcels Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Unknown |
| Sherman Marsh to Salt Bay Linkage Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 77 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Newcastle
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Newcastle
Riverside Boat Co.
DirectionsSherman Lake
DirectionsScenic views in Newcastle
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Newcastle
Hunt Hill348 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miHorses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 4.0 mi
Indian Trail1.3 mi
Ravine Trail1.1 mi
White Shad Run1.1 mi
Shore Trail1.1 mi
Blue Loop0.8 mi
Timber Trail0.8 mi
River Link0.7 mi
Orange Loop0.5 mi
Blue Heron Leg0.2 mi
Unmaintained Trail0.1 mi
1 more trails
Red Salmon Loop
0.1 miLakes & 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
5Tennis
1Baseball
1Softball
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Newcastle: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 53 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 58 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Newcastle →
Next door
Newcastle and its neighbors
Newcastle has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Newcastle19 miEdgecomb17 miBristol15 miSouth Bristol13 miWiscasset12 miDamariscotta7.0 miAlna6.2 miNobleboro0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 17% | 0.7 | 38 | 28% | B+ |
| Alna | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Damariscotta | 7% | 0.6 | 4 | 31% | C+ |
| Nobleboro | 5% | under 0.1 | 8 | 9% | C− |
| Wiscasset | 9% | 0.5 | 4 | 20% | C+ |
| South Bristol | 12% | 1.0 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Edgecomb | 15% | 0.9 | 20 | 3% | B |
| Bristol | 6% | 0.4 | 67 | 16% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Newcastle
Where can I hike in Newcastle?
The longest trail networks: Dodge Point Preserve, 6.1 miles; Griggs Preserve, 1.5 miles; Baker Forest, 0.7 miles; Sherman Lake Wildlife Management Area, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Newcastle is conserved land?
17% 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 Newcastle’s trails?
Dodge Point Preserve and Griggs Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Newcastle?
1,110 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newcastle or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 73 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Newcastle have?
Ahead of 73% 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 Newcastle 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 →