Waterboro Barrens Preserve
Nature preserve
1,991 acres8.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
James Leavitt House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Waterboro
Waterboro has 53 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Waterboro Barrens Preserve (8.8 mi), Knight-Cluff (1.2 mi), Vernon S. Walker Wildlife Management Area (0.9 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7% of Waterboro’s land is conserved, about 2,471 acres.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #99 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,471 acres · of 55.3 sq mi of land
Trails
53 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
3.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,024 ft
Ossipee Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
3 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Waterboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waterboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterboro is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #99 of 143 in Maine. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (53 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land3.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 43%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 31%
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 Waterboro Barrens Preserve, with 8.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Knight-Cluff
Nature preserve
125 acres1.2 mi of trail
Knight-Cluff Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vernon S. Walker Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
301 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
EE Brown-Ross
Nature preserve
106 acres0.6 mi of trail
Snowmobile ITS 89
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ossipee Mountain
Nature preserve
72 acres0.4 mi of trail
Mountain Road Extension
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Waterboro Barrens Preserve1,991 acres · 8.8 mi of trail
Knight-Cluff125 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Vernon S. Walker Wildlife Management Area301 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
EE Brown-Ross106 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Ossipee Mountain72 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Robert Fay Memorial Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Carpenter Estates77 acres
Outlet Park12 acres · Francis Small Heritage Trust, Inc.
Friendship Park10 acres
Sid Emery Demonstration Forest1 acres
Who protects it
2,471 conserved acres
7% of Waterboro’s land. Who manages Waterboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,227 ac
State fish & wildlife585 ac
Private Conservation · 3,988 acState Conservation Area · 585 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 113 acUnknown Easement · 63 acConservation Easement · 56 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 63 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterboro Barrens Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3,988 | Closed |
| Vernon S. Walker Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 293 | Closed |
| Little Ossipee River - Waterboro State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 293 | Restricted |
| Ossipee Mountain Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 73 | Closed |
| Federal Street Dog Park Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Closed |
| Main Street Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Closed |
| Old Alfred Rd Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Closed |
| Robert Fey Memorial Park Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Closed |
Things to do
10 places to go in Waterboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Waterboro
LAC private Beach 3
DirectionsLAC private Beach 5
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Waterboro
1 playground without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Waterboro
Federal Street Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Waterboro
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Waterboro
Ossipee Hill1,024 ft elevation
DirectionsChadbournes Ridge551 ft elevation
DirectionsIsinglass Hill413 ft elevation
DirectionsRoberts Ridge
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 13.7 mi
Snowmobile ITS 898.4 mi
Mountain Road Extension1.3 mi
Snowmobile East Waterboro1.2 mi
Knight-Cluff Trail1.2 mi
Snowmobile Lyman0.5 mi
Tr 1010.1 mi
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
9Tennis
8Baseball
6Multi-sport
2Basketball
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 Waterboro: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Waterboro →
Next door
Waterboro and its neighbors
Waterboro has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterboro | 7% | 1.0 | 3 | 13% | C+ |
| Limerick | 3% | 0.5 | 2 | 7% | C |
| Alfred | 13% | 0.7 | under 1 | 1% | C |
| Limington | 11% | 0.9 | 19 | 4% | B |
| Lake Arrowhead | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lyman | 8% | 1.0 | 22 | 2% | B |
| Hollis | 6% | 1.1 | 13 | 6% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waterboro
Where can I hike in Waterboro?
The longest trail networks: Waterboro Barrens Preserve, 8.8 miles; Knight-Cluff, 1.2 miles; Vernon S. Walker Wildlife Management Area, 0.9 miles; EE Brown-Ross, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waterboro is conserved land?
7% 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 Waterboro’s trails?
Waterboro Barrens Preserve and Knight-Cluff don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Waterboro?
1,477 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waterboro have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #99 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 Waterboro 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 →