Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
42 miles of mapped trail cross Orland, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Hothole Valley) (20.5 mi), Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Dead River East) (11.6 mi), Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery (3.3 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Orland is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 11% of Orland’s area (6 of 53 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Hothole Valley), with 20.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
16% of Orland’s land. Water is left out: Orland has 47.0 square miles of land and 5.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Orland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 200 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Pond Mountain Wildland Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4,266 | Closed |
| Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery Federal Other or Unknown | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 270 | Restricted |
| Great Pond Mtn Summit Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 113 | Closed |
| Hay Ledges Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 81 | Closed |
| Condon Hill Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Closed |
| Great Pond Mtn Trailhead Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 19 | Closed |
| Heart Pond Access State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 5 | Closed |
| Branch Lake State Park | State parks | 1 | Closed |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Plus 1 campground without a name on the map.
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 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 64 | 73 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 57 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Orland →
Orland has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orland | 16% | 0.9 | 6 | 11% | B− |
| Verona Island | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bucksport | under 1% | 0.9 | 18 | 27% | C+ |
| Ellsworth | 10% | 0.4 | 214 | 35% | B+ |
| Penobscot | 7% | 0.2 | 7 | 1% | C |
| Dedham | 8% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Hothole Valley), 20.5 miles; Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Dead River East), 11.6 miles; Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, 3.3 miles; Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Dead River West), 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
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.
Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Hothole Valley) and Great Pond Mountain Wildlands (Dead River East) don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
2,811 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 53% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Orland neighbors.
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 →