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Southard BlockSouthard Block · Photo: Dwight R. Sturgis · Public domain
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Richmond

Richmond has 41 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land

200 acres are parks and preserves, 56 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Richmond Town Forest (0.8 mi). 9% of Richmond’s land is conserved, about 1,802 acres.

Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #18 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Conserved land
9%
1,802 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
41 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
200 ac
56 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
381 ft
Ring Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Richmond?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 86% of U.S. towns.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Richmond have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richmond is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #18 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richmond’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (41 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land56 acres of park per 1,000 residents (200 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home35% 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 79%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 88%
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.

1234
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 Richmond Town Forest, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Richmond Town Forest

Nature preserve
137 acres0.8 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 31 Bowdoinham
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area

Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
1,197 acres0.1 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 30 Richmond
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Peacock Beach Park

Managed by Town of Richmond
27 acres0.1 mi of trail
Fire Road 121
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Vickery Preserve

Managed by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Richmond Town Forest137 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Lane Field4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area1,197 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Peacock Beach Park27 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Richmond
Fort Richmond Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Vickery Preserve27 acres · Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Who protects it

1,802 conserved acres

9% of Richmond’s land. Who manages Richmond’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State fish & wildlife1,190 ac
Regional agency225 ac
State natural resources143 ac
Other state land143 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)104 ac
State parks83 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits46 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,190 acLocal Other or Unknown · 408 acConservation Easement · 282 acAgricultural Easement · 144 acState Park · 83 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 266 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area
State Conservation Area
State fish & wildlife1,190Closed
Woodland
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded164Unknown
Town Forest
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency137Unknown
Peacock Beach State Park
State Park
State parks83Closed
School District
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency63Closed
Miscellaneous Municipal Lands
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded19Unknown
Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency19Unknown
KELT-Vickery
Private Other or Unknown
Land trusts & nonprofits9Restricted
Emerson Lane Field
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency3Closed
Richmond Waterfront Park
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency3Unknown
Things to do

5 places to go in Richmond

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Richmond
Ring Hill381 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

23 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Snowmobile Trail 30 Richmond7.0 mi
Snowmobile Trail 28 Richmond3.6 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29 Gardiner3.6 mi
Snowmobile Trail 27 Richmond3.5 mi
Snowmobile Trail 27/30 Richmond3.2 mi
Snowmobile Trail 21 Richmond2.5 mi
Snowmobile Trail 29a Gardiner2.3 mi
Snowmobile Trail 25 Richmond1.7 mi
Snowmobile Trail 31 Bowdoinham1.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail 18 Richmond1.3 mi
13 more trails
Snowmobile Trail 22 Richmond
1.1 mi
Snowmobile Trail 18 Richmond Closed NO ACCESS
1.0 mi
Snowmobile Trail 43 Richmond
1.0 mi
Snowmobile Trail 20 Richmond
0.9 mi
Snowmobile Trail 13 Bowdoinham
0.9 mi
Fire Road 112
0.4 mi
Fire Road 108
0.3 mi
Fire Road 106
0.2 mi
Fire Road 121
0.2 mi
Fire Road 125
0.1 mi
Fire Road 133
0.1 mi
Fire Road 117
0.1 mi
Snowmobile Gardiner Trail
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Kennebec River
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
3Soccer
3Baseball
2Softball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Southard BlockBuilding · listed 1972
About it
Richmond Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About it
Peacock TavernBuilding · listed 1986
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Richmond: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.715.515.214.012.410.99.68.9
High (°F)303341536574797870584636
Rain (in)3.53.24.04.23.64.43.43.44.05.24.44.3

February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Richmond →

Next door

Richmond and its neighbors

Richmond has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Richmond41 miBowdoinham39 miBowdoin19 miLitchfield15 miDresden5.5 miPittston2.9 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Richmond9%1.35635%A−
Litchfield3%0.45618%B−
Dresden6%0.2531%B−
Bowdoin7%0.4under 1under 1%C
Pittstonunder 1%0.196%D
Bowdoinham13%1.11412%B

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Richmond

Where can I hike in Richmond?

The longest trail networks: Richmond Town Forest, 0.8 miles; Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles; Peacock Beach Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Richmond is conserved land?

9% 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 Richmond’s trails?

Richmond Town Forest and Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Richmond?

1,197 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richmond or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 200 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Richmond have?

Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Richmond neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →