Cornwall Nature Preserve
Managed by Maine Minor Civil Division
142 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Paris
Paris has 15 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
43% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 5.3 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Paris’ land is conserved, about 1,064 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #107 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,064 acres · of 40.8 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
5.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,394 ft
Ryerson Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Paris?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paris have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paris is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #107 of 143 in Maine. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Paris’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home43% 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 40%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 25%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Whitney
Managed by Western Foothills Land Trust
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dennis Rugg Sports Complex
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Cornwall Nature Preserve142 acres · Maine Minor Civil Division
DirectionsWhitney23 acres · Western Foothills Land Trust
Dennis Rugg Sports Complex12 acres
McLaughlin Garden5 acres
DirectionsCourthouse Square3 acres
Stony Brook Nature Area2 acres
DirectionsWillard Park2 acres
DirectionsMoore Park1 acres
DirectionsOxford Hills Skate Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,064 conserved acres
4% of Paris’ land. Who manages Paris’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,580 ac
Regional agency259 ac
Town or city2 ac
Not recorded7 ac
Agricultural Easement · 706 acConservation Easement · 430 acUnknown Easement · 295 acForest Stewardship Easement · 149 acPrivate Conservation · 145 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 802 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Regional agency | 145 | Closed |
| Gravel Pit Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 67 | Closed |
| Paine Pond Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 31 | Closed |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 7 | Unknown |
| Paris Ballfields Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 6 | Closed |
| Rear Western Prom Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 3 | Closed |
| Moore Park Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 2 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Skate Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Paris
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Paris
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Paris
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Paris
Ryerson Hill1,394 ft elevation
DirectionsSingepole Mountain1,391 ft elevation
DirectionsCrocker Hill1,362 ft elevation
DirectionsLittle Singepole Mountain1,358 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Marie1,240 ft elevation
DirectionsHedgehog Hill1,145 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Mica1,001 ft elevation
DirectionsDurrell Hill968 ft elevation
Directions5 more peaks
Paris Hill820 ft elevation
DirectionsWhitney Hill820 ft elevation
DirectionsElm Hill669 ft elevation
DirectionsLovejoy Hill653 ft elevation
DirectionsBrett Hill646 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.6 mi
Singepole Trail3.3 mi
Viking trail2.6 mi
Crocker Hill Trail1.7 mi
Railroad Trail0.2 mi
Singepole New0.1 mi
Streaked Mountain 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
6Baseball
4Soccer
3Softball
2Basketball
2Football
1Field hockey
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Paris Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itRobinson-Parsons FarmBuilding · listed 1982
About itElisha F. Stone HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itParis Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1989
About itHershey Plow Company BuildingBuilding · listed 1990
About itMcLaughlin House and GardenDistrict · listed 2000
About itDeering Memorial United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2008
About itBrick SchoolBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Paris: 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 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Paris →
Next door
Paris 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris | 4% | 0.4 | 5 | 43% | C+ |
| Norway | 7% | 0.5 | 14 | 42% | B |
| South Paris | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hebron | 8% | 0.9 | 6 | 1% | C+ |
| West Paris | 3% | 0.1 | 9 | 20% | C− |
| Oxford | 5% | 0.5 | 18 | 13% | B− |
| Buckfield | 8% | 0.4 | 2 | 6% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Paris
How much of Paris is conserved land?
4% 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 Paris’ trails?
Cornwall Nature Preserve and Whitney don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Paris?
790 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paris or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 28 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Paris have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 Paris 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 →