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Downtown Waterville, ME IMG 2639Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Waterville

Waterville has 17 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land

The biggest trail networks: Oxbow Nature Preserve (0.6 mi). 6% of Waterville’s land is conserved, about 517 acres. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #30 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

Conserved land
6%
517 acres · of 13.5 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
218 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
9.7 mi paths
Highest peak
390 ft
Mayflower Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Waterville?

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

A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.History along the way16 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Waterville have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterville is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #30 of 143 in Maine. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterville’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (218 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 75%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 80%
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.

1234
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 Oxbow Nature Preserve, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Oxbow Nature Preserve

Park
17 acres0.6 mi of trail
Oxbow Path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

North Street Recreation Area

Park
15 acres0.4 mi of trail
North Street Recreational Area Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Head of Falls Park

Park
9 acres0.4 mi of trail
River Walk At Head Of Falls
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Green Street Park

Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Oxbow Nature Preserve17 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
North Street Recreation Area15 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Head of Falls Park9 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Green Street Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Purnell Wrigley Field4 acres
Cutting Memorial Park1 acres
Grove Street Playground1 acres
David Kenneth Quirion Park1 acres
Who protects it

517 conserved acres

6% of Waterville’s land. Who manages Waterville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency392 ac
Town or city187 ac
Not recorded385 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 778 acLocal Recreation Area · 165 acLocal Park · 22 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Unknown
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency392Unknown
Miscellaneous Municipal Lands
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded385Unknown
Quarry Road Recreation Area
Local Recreation Area
Town or city138Open
North Street Recreation Area
Local Recreation Area
Town or city13Open
Unknown Park
Local Park
Town or city12Open
Rummels Field
Local Recreation Area
Town or city10Open
Head Of Falls Park
Local Park
Town or city6Open
Purnell Wrigley Field
Local Recreation Area
Town or city3Open
Green Street Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open
Waterville Dog Park
Local Park
Town or city1Open
Things to do

8 places to go in Waterville

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

Playgrounds in Waterville
Children's Play AreaIn Head of Falls Park
Directions
Moor Street Playground
Directions

Plus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.

Trails & water

17 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miUnpaved · 11.1 mi
Pine Ridge Loop1.1 mi
Green Trail1.0 mi
Yellow Trail0.8 mi
Oxbow Path0.5 mi
Rugby Path0.5 mi
Purple Trail0.4 mi
Red Trail0.4 mi
North Street Recreational Area Trail0.3 mi
Flight Trail0.3 mi
Blue Trail0.3 mi
7 more trails
White Trail
0.3 mi
Jetstream
0.2 mi
River Walk At Head Of Falls
0.2 mi
Snowmobile
0.1 mi
Pine Ridge Trail
0.1 mi
Devil's Chair Trail
0.1 mi
Nelson’s Path
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Johnson PondpondMessalonskee Stream ReservoirreservoirKennebec RiverMessalonskee Stream
Biking & sports

9.7 miles of bike routes

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

9.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Tennis
8Soccer
7Softball
6Baseball
3Basketball
3Tracks
2Multi-sport
2Football

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

History along the way

16 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Two Cent BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About it
Waterville Opera House and City HallBuilding · listed 1976
About it
First Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About it
Waterville Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Universalist-Unitarian ChurchBuilding · listed 1978
About it
Redington HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About it
Alvin O. Lombard HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About it
Professional BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About it
Heald HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About it
Lockwood Mill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About it
Waterville High SchoolBuilding · listed 2010
About it
Waterville Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2012
About it

4 more on the History page.

When to get out

The best walking months in Waterville: 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)9.210.411.813.414.815.515.214.012.410.99.58.8
High (°F)283140536674807971584534
Rain (in)3.22.83.33.83.34.03.43.43.74.94.04.0

February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Waterville →

Next door

Waterville and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Winslow41 miOakland23 miWaterville17 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Waterville6%1.31377%A−
Winslow1%1.1559%C+
Oakland2%0.9817%C+

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

Questions about parks and trails in Waterville

Where can I hike in Waterville?

The longest trail networks: Oxbow Nature Preserve, 0.6 miles; North Street Recreation Area, 0.4 miles; Head of Falls Park, 0.4 miles; Green Street Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Waterville 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 Waterville’s trails?

Oxbow Nature Preserve and North Street Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Waterville?

9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.7 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Waterville?

644 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 218 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Waterville have?

Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #30 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 Waterville 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 →