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Pejepscot MillPhoto: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domain
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Topsham

Topsham has 46 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land

11% of Topsham’s land is conserved, about 2,346 acres. The biggest trail networks: Transfer Station Trails (6.1 mi), Cathance River Nature Preserve (4.3 mi), Topsham Recreation Fields (1.6 mi). 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #42 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Conserved land
11%
2,346 acres · of 32.2 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
150 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.0 mi
3.0 mi lanes
Highest peak
358 ft
Tate Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Topsham?

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

A trail town1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 88% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild11% of the land is conserved; a typical Maine town, 6%.History along the way7 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Topsham have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Topsham is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #42 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Topsham’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (150 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home29% 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 70%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 71%

Water is 10% of Topsham’s area (3 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.

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.

1234567
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 Transfer Station Trails, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Transfer Station Trails

Nature preserve
186 acres6.1 mi of trail
Gone Fishing 3Gone Fishing 4Gone Fishing 2Gone Fishing 5+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead

Cathance River Nature Preserve

Managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
234 acres4.3 mi of trail
Cathance River TrailRavine TrailHighland TrailHeath Round Loop Trail+1
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Topsham Recreation Fields

Park
75 acres1.6 mi of trail
Recreation Fields Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Bradley Pond Farm Preserve

Managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
129 acres1 mi of trail
Perimeter TrailUpper Loop Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Tarbox Preserve

Managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
119 acres0.9 mi of trail
Tarbox Preserve Ravine TrailTarbox PreserveTarbox Preserve Picnic Point
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Androscoggin Woods

Managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
72 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead

Rogers Property

Managed by Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
31 acres0.9 mi of trail
Cathance River Trail (East)
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 22 parks & preserves
Transfer Station Trails186 acres · 6.1 mi of trail
Directions
Cathance River Nature Preserve234 acres · 4.3 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Topsham Recreation Fields75 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
Directions
Bradley Pond Farm Preserve129 acres · 1 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Tarbox Preserve119 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Androscoggin Woods72 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Rogers Property31 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Head of Tide Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Merrymeeting Bay Wildlife Management Area426 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Beatrice B. Baxter Memorial Forest182 acres
Perry Property163 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Directions
Robert Williams Preserve83 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Topsham Town Forest67 acres
Cow Island57 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Mill Forest28 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Androscoggin Riverwalk Park13 acres
Directions
Muddy River Property13 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Alora Drive12 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Odell Property11 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Little River Preserve5 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Alan E. Hutchinson Wildlife Management Area4 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Howard Property3 acres · Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
Who protects it

2,346 conserved acres

11% of Topsham’s land. Water is left out: Topsham has 32.2 square miles of land and 3.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Topsham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits1,934 ac
State fish & wildlife578 ac
Regional agency459 ac
State parks160 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)114 ac
Joint112 ac
Regional Water Districts41 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 658 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 606 acState Conservation Area · 569 acConservation Easement · 527 acUnknown Easement · 517 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 610 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 85 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 & wildlife434Closed
Miscellaneous Municipal Lands
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded201Unknown
Recycling Center
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency188Unknown
Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency164Unknown
Perry
Private Other or Unknown
Land trusts & nonprofits154Restricted
Cathance River
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits151Closed
Topsham
Local Other or Unknown
State parks150Closed
Tarbox Preserve
Private Other or Unknown
Land trusts & nonprofits121Unknown
Beatrice Baxter Memorial Forest
State Resource Management Area
State parks117Open
Kep - Muddy River
State Conservation Area
State fish & wildlife107Restricted

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

10 places to go in Topsham

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

Peaks in Topsham
Tate Hill358 ft elevation
Directions
Powers Mountain207 ft elevation
Directions
Mount Ararat197 ft elevation
Directions
Sprague Hill144 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.5 miHorses · 9.5 miUnpaved · 29.0 mi
Cross Topsham Trail8.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail 174.0 mi
Recreation Fields Trail1.5 mi
Cathance River Trail1.4 mi
Muddy River Trail1.3 mi
Gone Fishing 31.1 mi
Bay Park Trail1.0 mi
Gone Fishing 41.0 mi
Homeplace Trail1.0 mi
Gone Fishing 20.8 mi
15 more trails
Cathance River Trail (East)
0.7 mi
Gone Fishing 5
0.6 mi
Perimeter Trail
0.6 mi
Highland Trail
0.6 mi
Ravine Trail
0.5 mi
Gone Fishing 1
0.5 mi
Heath Round Loop Trail
0.5 mi
Creekview Trail
0.4 mi
Tarbox Preserve Ravine Trail
0.3 mi
Upper Loop Trail
0.3 mi
Town Landing Trail
0.3 mi
Tarbox Preserve
0.2 mi
Barnes Leap Trail
0.2 mi
Rapids Trail
0.2 mi
Beaver Trail
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Androscoggin River ReservoirreservoirBig Eddy PondpondBradley PondpondGolden PondpondLittle Eddy PondpondSwamp No. 1 QuarrySwamp No. 2 QuarryAndroscoggin RiverCathance RiverMuddy River
Biking & sports

4.0 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

3.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Baseball
6Soccer
6Tennis
2Football
1Softball
1Equestrian
1Basketball

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

History along the way

7 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Pejepscot Paper CompanyBuilding · listed 1974
About it
Topsham Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About it
Purinton Family FarmBuilding · listed 1989
About it
Topsham Fairgrounds GrandstandStructure · listed 1992
About it
Cathance Water TowerStructure · listed 2001
About it
Androscoggin Swinging BridgeStructure · listed 2004
About it
Randall-Hildreth HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Topsham: 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)3.53.24.14.33.74.43.53.44.05.24.54.3

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 Topsham →

Next door

Topsham and its neighbors

Topsham has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Brunswick77 miTopsham46 miBowdoinham39 miBath33 miBowdoin19 miLisbon8.7 miDurham3.9 miLisbon Falls1.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Topsham11%1.41529%B+
Lisbon Falls— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Lisbon7%0.46964%B+
Brunswick14%1.65376%A
Bowdoinham13%1.11412%B
Durham3%0.13710%C+
Bath16%3.62287%A
Bowdoin7%0.4under 1under 1%C

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

Questions about parks and trails in Topsham

Where can I hike in Topsham?

The longest trail networks: Transfer Station Trails, 6.1 miles; Cathance River Nature Preserve, 4.3 miles; Topsham Recreation Fields, 1.6 miles; Bradley Pond Farm Preserve, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Topsham is conserved land?

11% 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 Topsham’s trails?

Transfer Station Trails and Cathance River Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Topsham?

4.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of painted or protected lanes and 1.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.

Is there public land near Topsham?

4,354 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Topsham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 267 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Topsham have?

Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #42 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 Topsham 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 →