Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service;U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Ted Wells Memorial TrailTed Wells Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Paul VanDerWerf from Brunswick, Maine, USA · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Old Orchard Beach
Old Orchard Beach has 16 miles of mapped trails, 2.1 for every square mile of land
14% of Old Orchard Beach’s land is conserved, about 675 acres. The biggest trail networks: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (0.5 mi). 64 acres are parks and preserves, 6.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #39 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
675 acres · of 7.4 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
6.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.2 mi
1.6 mi lanes · 1.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
2 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Old Orchard Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Old Orchard Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Old Orchard Beach is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #39 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Old Orchard Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land6.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home51% 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 72%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 73%
Water is more than half of Old Orchard Beach’s area (15 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Blueberry Plains Conservation Area
Nature preserve
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
272 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge31 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service;U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
DirectionsBlueberry Plains Conservation Area10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsScarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area272 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsOOB Recreation Complex at the Ballpark49 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMilliken Mills Trails68 acres
Furber Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
675 conserved acres
14% of Old Orchard Beach’s land. Water is left out: Old Orchard Beach has 7.4 square miles of land and 15.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Old Orchard Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency345 ac
State fish & wildlife268 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service63 ac
Town or city38 ac
Not recorded564 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 645 acState Conservation Area · 454 acState Other or Unknown · 66 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 63 acLocal Park · 47 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 25 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 308 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 308 | Unknown |
| Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 268 | Restricted |
| Scarborough Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 186 | Unknown |
| Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 66 | Unknown |
| Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 63 | Restricted |
| Old Orchard Beach Ballpark Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Surfside Beach Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 14 | Restricted |
| Old Orchard Beach Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 13 | Restricted |
| Ocean Park (Old Orchard Beach) Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
24 places to go in Old Orchard Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Old Orchard Beach
Old Orchard Beach
DirectionsSurfside Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Old Orchard Beach
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Old Orchard Beach
Public Dog ParkIn Memorial Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Old Orchard Beach
Oceanwood Camp and Conference CenterTABCOM
DirectionsSun Retreats Wild Acres
DirectionsVirginia Tent at Wild Acres
DirectionsWagon Wheel Campground
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.4 mi
Ted Wells Memorial Trail0.2 mi
Ted Wells Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
7Basketball
5Baseball
3Multi-sport
3Tracks
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Old Orchard Beach: 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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 35 | 42 | 54 | 64 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 59 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.7 |
January is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Old Orchard Beach →
Next door
Old Orchard Beach 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Orchard Beach | 14% | 2.1 | 7 | 51% | B+ |
| Saco | 13% | 0.7 | 7 | 63% | B+ |
| Scarborough | 20% | 1.0 | 28 | 32% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Old Orchard Beach
Where can I hike in Old Orchard Beach?
The longest trail networks: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, 0.5 miles; Blueberry Plains Conservation Area, 0.4 miles; Memorial Park, 0.4 miles; Scarborough Marsh Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Old Orchard Beach is conserved land?
14% 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 Old Orchard Beach’s trails?
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and Blueberry Plains Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Old Orchard Beach?
3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes and 1.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Old Orchard Beach?
2,852 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Old Orchard Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Old Orchard Beach have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 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 Old Orchard Beach 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 →