Acre Island Preserve
Managed by Georges River Land Trust
80 acres1.8 mi of trail
100 Acre Island Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Public domain · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Union
6% of Union’s land is conserved: 1,133 acres
The biggest trail networks: Acre Island Preserve (1.8 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.7 miles of mapped trail cross Union, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,133 acres · of 32.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
804 ft
Coggans Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Union?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union is ahead of 39% 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 Union’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home13% 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 39%
LessMore
Water is 7% of Union’s area (2 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Acre Island Preserve, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Clarry Hill Highlands
Managed by Midcoast Conservancy
212 acres0.3 mi of trail
Clarry Hill Preserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Clarry Hill Preserve
Managed by Midcoast Conservancy
66 acres0.3 mi of trail
Clarry Hill Preserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Union Fairgrounds
Park
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Acre Island Preserve80 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Georges River Land Trust
Clarry Hill Highlands212 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Midcoast Conservancy
Clarry Hill Preserve66 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Midcoast Conservancy
Union Fairgrounds37 acres
Stickney Preserve13 acres · Georges River Land Trust
The Pool Preserve7 acres · Georges River Land Trust
Union Town Common2 acres
Ayer Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,133 conserved acres
6% of Union’s land. Water is left out: Union has 32.2 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Union’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,769 ac
Regional agency140 ac
Joint38 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)30 ac
Not recorded141 ac
Agricultural Easement · 877 acUnknown Easement · 473 acConservation Easement · 319 acLocal Other or Unknown · 281 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 168 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 824 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 21 of 33 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 141 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 140 | Unknown |
| 100 Acre Island Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 81 | Restricted |
| Clarry Hill PH1 Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 39 | Unknown |
| Upper Medomak River Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Unknown |
| Stickney Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
| The Pool Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Restricted |
Things to do
6 places to go in Union
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Union
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Union
Coggans Hill804 ft elevation
DirectionsBarrett Hill682 ft elevation · In Stickney Preserve
DirectionsClarry Hill646 ft elevation
DirectionsShepards Hill463 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Union
MIC MAC LN, LLC
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
100 Acre Island Trail1.9 mi
Clarry Hill Preserve Trail0.7 mi
Carroll Farm Trail0.6 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
2Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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 Union: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 57 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
July is the driest month (3.3 in) and the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Union →
Next door
Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union | 6% | 0.2 | 15 | 13% | C+ |
| Washington | 2% | under 0.1 | 5 | 5% | D |
| Warren | 5% | 0.2 | 99 | 17% | B− |
| Appleton | 14% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Hope | 4% | 0.1 | 10 | 16% | C |
| Waldoboro | 9% | 0.2 | 23 | 19% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union
Where can I hike in Union?
The longest trail networks: Acre Island Preserve, 1.8 miles; Clarry Hill Highlands, 0.3 miles; Clarry Hill Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Union is conserved land?
6% 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 Union’s trails?
Acre Island Preserve and Clarry Hill Highlands don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Union?
6,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union have?
Ahead of 39% 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 Union 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 →