Surry Forest
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
2,089 acres8.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Surry Town Hall · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Surry
Surry has 18 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Surry Forest (8.1 mi), Meadowbrook Forest (3.7 mi), Patten Stream Preserve (1.3 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 32 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,017 acres · of 37.0 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
32 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
20 ft
High Head
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Surry?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Surry have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Surry is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Surry’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (32 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home8% 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 46%
LessMore
Water is 28% of Surry’s area (14 of 51 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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 Surry Forest, with 8.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meadowbrook Forest
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
716 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Patten Stream Preserve
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
39 acres1.3 mi of trail
North Loop TrailSouth Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Talalay Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
33 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Furth Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
27 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Carter Nature Preserve
Managed by Blue Hill Heritage Trust
24 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Surry Forest2,089 acres · 8.1 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Meadowbrook Forest716 acres · 3.7 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Patten Stream Preserve39 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Talalay Nature Sanctuary33 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
DirectionsFurth Wildlife Sanctuary27 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
DirectionsCarter Nature Preserve24 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Blue Hill Heritage Trust
DirectionsOsgood Lot25 acres
Patten Pond Boat Launch7 acres
Who protects it
1,017 conserved acres
4% of Surry’s land. Water is left out: Surry has 37.0 square miles of land and 14.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Surry’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits907 ac
Regional agency134 ac
Not recorded189 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 714 acLocal Other or Unknown · 256 acPrivate Conservation · 209 acConservation Easement · 26 acUnknown Easement · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 26 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadowbrook Forest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 502 | Closed |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 121 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 121 | Unknown |
| Morgan Bay Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 105 | Closed |
| Blue Hill Heritage Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 67 | Unknown |
| Peterson Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 66 | Closed |
| Gold Stream Marsh Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 61 | Closed |
| Patten Stream Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 39 | Closed |
| Talalay Nature Sanctuary Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 33 | Restricted |
| Furth Wildlife Sanctuary Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Restricted |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Surry
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Surry
Carrying Place Beach
DirectionsBoat launches in Surry
Surry Town Landing
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Surry
High Head20 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
North Loop Trail0.7 mi
South Loop Trail0.5 mi
Fire Road 14A0.4 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
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Surry: 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) | 30 | 32 | 40 | 51 | 63 | 71 | 78 | 77 | 68 | 56 | 45 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
August is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Surry →
Next door
Surry 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surry | 4% | 0.5 | 18 | 8% | B− |
| Ellsworth | 10% | 0.4 | 214 | 35% | B+ |
| Blue Hill | 18% | 0.4 | 24 | 19% | B |
| Penobscot | 7% | 0.2 | 7 | 1% | C |
| Trenton | 4% | 0.2 | 64 | under 1% | C+ |
| Mount Desert | 60% | 3.0 | 5,960 | 45% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Surry
Where can I hike in Surry?
The longest trail networks: Surry Forest, 8.1 miles; Meadowbrook Forest, 3.7 miles; Patten Stream Preserve, 1.3 miles; Talalay Nature Sanctuary, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Surry 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 Surry’s trails?
Surry Forest and Meadowbrook Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Surry?
17,804 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Surry or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 32 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Surry have?
Ahead of 46% 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 Surry 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 →