Bradbury Mountain State Park
Park
696 acres19.9 mi of trail
"O" TrailGinnSnowmobile TrailIsland+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pownal
Pownal has 706 acres of parks, 416 for every 1,000 residents
31 miles of mapped trail cross Pownal, 1.4 per square mile of land. 12% of Pownal’s land is conserved, about 1,687 acres. The biggest trail networks: Bradbury Mountain State Park (19.9 mi), Bradbury-Pineland Corridor (3.7 mi), Pownal Town Woodlot (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
1,687 acres · of 22.9 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
706 ac
416 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
469 ft
Bradbury Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is Pownal?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Room to roam416 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 87% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical Maine town, 6%.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pownal have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pownal is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pownal’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land416 acres of park per 1,000 residents (706 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home21% 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 82%
LessMore
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 Bradbury Mountain State Park, with 19.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bradbury-Pineland Corridor
Nature preserve
236 acres3.7 mi of trail
Up and OverQuarry AccessStraight ShotBoundry Connect+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pownal Town Woodlot
Nature preserve
222 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Elmwood Trails Conservation Easement
Nature preserve
109 acres0.9 mi of trail
Elmwood Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Bradbury Mountain State Park696 acres · 19.9 mi of trail
DirectionsBradbury-Pineland Corridor236 acres · 3.7 mi of trail
DirectionsPownal Town Woodlot222 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Elmwood Trails Conservation Easement109 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Elmwood Road Boulders Conservation Easement95 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOld Harris Road Trail Easement2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Old Harris Road Preserve14 acres · Royal River Conservation Trust
Pisgah Hill Preserve (North)1 acres
Who protects it
1,687 conserved acres
12% of Pownal’s land. Who manages Pownal’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks945 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits919 ac
Regional agency231 ac
Other state land54 ac
Joint25 ac
Not recorded413 ac
State Park · 874 acLocal Other or Unknown · 654 acConservation Easement · 489 acUnknown Easement · 468 acOther Easement · 41 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 499 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 29 of 64 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradbury Mountain State Park State Park | State parks | 874 | Closed |
| Pownal Municipal Woodlot Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 333 | Closed |
| Bradbury-Pineland Corridor Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 219 | Closed |
| Pownal Municipal Woodlot-Allen Road Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 93 | Unknown |
| Pownal Municipal Woodlot-Elmwood Road 2 Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Poland Range Road Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 17 | Closed |
| Old Harris Road Lot and Trail State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 3 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Pisgah Hill Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Restricted |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Pownal
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pownal
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Pownal
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Pownal
Bradbury Mountain469 ft elevation · In Bradbury Mountain State Park
DirectionsTryon Mountain390 ft elevation · In Bradbury-Pineland Corridor
DirectionsBibber Hill344 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Pownal
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Pownal
Blueberry Pond Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 14.9 miHorses · 10.8 miUnpaved · 16.6 mi
Ginn2.1 mi
Snowmobile Trail1.9 mi
"O" Trail1.9 mi
Elmwood Trail1.4 mi
Boundary Trail1.3 mi
Island1.2 mi
Fox East1.1 mi
Knight Woods1.1 mi
Northern Loop1.0 mi
Up and Over1.0 mi
15 more trails
Ragan
0.9 miFox West
0.8 miKrista's Trail
0.7 miBatcave
0.7 miBoundry Connect
0.7 miLanzo
0.6 miOwl
0.5 miPownal Trail
0.5 miQuarry Access
0.5 miTributary Trail
0.5 miHemlock
0.4 miSouth Ridge Trail
0.4 miLink Trail
0.4 miSwitchback Trail
0.4 miStraight Shot
0.3 miHistory along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Pownal: 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 | 54 | 65 | 74 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Pownal →
Next door
Pownal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pownal | 12% | 1.4 | 416 | 21% | A− |
| North Yarmouth | 13% | 1.2 | 59 | 37% | A− |
| Freeport | 14% | 1.5 | 46 | 34% | A− |
| Durham | 3% | 0.1 | 37 | 10% | C+ |
| New Gloucester | 18% | 0.7 | 14 | 10% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pownal
Where can I hike in Pownal?
The longest trail networks: Bradbury Mountain State Park, 19.9 miles; Bradbury-Pineland Corridor, 3.7 miles; Pownal Town Woodlot, 0.9 miles; Elmwood Trails Conservation Easement, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pownal is conserved land?
12% 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 Pownal’s trails?
Bradbury Mountain State Park and Bradbury-Pineland Corridor don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Pownal?
6,144 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pownal or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 706 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pownal have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Pownal 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 →