Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
1,821 acres5.1 mi of trail
Birch Point TrailHollingsworth TrailLobster Point
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Moore, Henry D., Parish House and Library · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Steuben
9% of Steuben’s land is conserved: 2,545 acres
The biggest trail networks: Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge (5.1 mi), Pigeon Hill Preserve (1.9 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 17 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,545 acres · of 43.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
17 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.4 mi
3.4 mi paths
Highest peak
308 ft
Pigeon Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach · 5 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Steuben have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Steuben is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Steuben’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (17 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
Water is 31% of Steuben’s area (19 of 62 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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
The longest trail network is Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, with 5.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pigeon Hill Preserve
Managed by Downeast Coastal Conservancy
172 acres1.9 mi of trail
Ledge Woods TrailSummit Loop TrailSliver Mine TrailPiner Woods Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Unionville Ballfield
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,545 conserved acres
9% of Steuben’s land. Water is left out: Steuben has 43.0 square miles of land and 19.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Steuben’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service4,461 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits327 ac
State fish & wildlife117 ac
Joint99 ac
Other state land51 ac
State parks26 ac
Not recorded15 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 4,262 acConservation Easement · 388 acRecreation or Education Easement · 99 acState Conservation Area · 99 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 89 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 159 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 4,262 | Restricted |
| Pleasant Bay - Pigeon Hill State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 99 | Restricted |
| Pigeon Hill Phase II Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 57 | Closed |
| Downeast Sunrise Trail State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 51 | Restricted |
| Petit Manan Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 37 | Closed |
| Overs Point Private Conservation | Not recorded | 28 | Unknown |
| Pigeon Hill Phase I Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 18 | Closed |
| Goods Point State Park | State parks | 5 | Closed |
| The Castle and Bonny Chess Ledge State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Steuben
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Steuben
Rogers Point Beach
DirectionsBoat launches in Steuben
Steuben Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Steuben
Pigeon Hill308 ft elevation · In Pigeon Hill Preserve
DirectionsEagle Hill226 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 3.3 mi
Birch Point Trail2.1 mi
Hollingsworth Trail1.6 mi
Ledge Woods Trail0.6 mi
Summit Loop Trail0.4 mi
Sliver Mine Trail0.4 mi
Lobster Point0.3 mi
Piner Woods Trail0.2 mi
Glacial Spur Tail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tennis
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Steuben: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 40 | 51 | 62 | 70 | 76 | 76 | 68 | 56 | 46 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.3 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Steuben →
Next door
Steuben 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steuben | 9% | 0.3 | 12 | 4% | C+ |
| Gouldsboro | 21% | 0.4 | 244 | 18% | B+ |
| Milbridge | 21% | 0.3 | 38 | 30% | B+ |
| Cherryfield | 10% | 0.4 | 821 | 22% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Steuben
Where can I hike in Steuben?
The longest trail networks: Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, 5.1 miles; Pigeon Hill Preserve, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Steuben 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 Steuben’s trails?
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Pigeon Hill Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Steuben?
3.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Steuben?
9,439 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Steuben or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 17 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Steuben have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Steuben 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 →