Eaton Farm Preserve
Managed by Chewonki Foundation
200 acres1.8 mi of trail
Back River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nickels-Sortwell House · Photo: WestportWiki · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wiscasset
9% of Wiscasset’s land is conserved: 1,365 acres
The biggest trail networks: Eaton Farm Preserve (1.8 mi), Sortwell Memorial Forest (1.3 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 14 acres are parks and preserves, 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns · #106 of 143 in Maine. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,365 acres · of 24.6 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
14 ac
3.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
148 ft
Cushman Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Wiscasset?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wiscasset have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wiscasset is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #106 of 143 in Maine. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wiscasset’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (14 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home20% 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 41%
LessMore
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 26%
Water is 11% of Wiscasset’s area (3 of 28 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Eaton Farm Preserve, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sortwell Memorial Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation, Inc.
97 acres1.3 mi of trail
Elderberry TrailHemlock TrailTall Pine TrailBlackberry Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cushman Preserve
Managed by Chewonki Foundation
105 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Midcoast Conservancy Land
Managed by Midcoast Conservancy
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Eaton Farm Preserve200 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Chewonki Foundation
DirectionsSortwell Memorial Forest97 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation, Inc.
Cushman Preserve105 acres · Chewonki Foundation
Midcoast Conservancy Land47 acres · Midcoast Conservancy
Wiscasset Community Park8 acres
DirectionsSherman Park3 acres
DirectionsWiscasset Green1 acres · Town of Wiscasset
DirectionsPleasant Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,365 conserved acres
9% of Wiscasset’s land. Water is left out: Wiscasset has 24.6 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wiscasset’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits918 ac
Regional agency146 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)17 ac
Not recorded727 ac
Private Conservation · 536 acConservation Easement · 481 acLocal Other or Unknown · 338 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 324 acUnknown Easement · 82 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 307 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chewonki Neck Private Conservation | Not recorded | 386 | Unknown |
| Eaton Farm Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 196 | Restricted |
| Cushman Mtn. Private Conservation | Not recorded | 150 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 144 | Unknown |
| Miscellaneous Municipal Lands Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 138 | Unknown |
| Sortwell Memorial Forest Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 97 | Closed |
| Town Ownership Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 53 | Unknown |
| Brun Life Estate Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Restricted |
| Montsweag Brook buffer Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Closed |
| Montsweag Brook pond buffer Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Closed |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Wiscasset
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wiscasset
Bible Baptist Playground
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Wiscasset
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Wiscasset
Cushman Hill148 ft elevation · In Cushman Preserve
DirectionsBlueberry Hill
DirectionsCampgrounds in Wiscasset
Chewonki Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Back River Trail1.8 mi
Tall Pine Trail0.8 mi
The Great Escape0.7 mi
Black Trail0.5 mi
Deer Run0.5 mi
Hemlock Trail0.4 mi
Morris Farm Trail0.4 mi
Elderberry Trail0.4 mi
Beech Tree Trail0.3 mi
Woody's Trail0.3 mi
2 more trails
Blackberry Trail
0.3 miRidge Runner
0.3 miLakes & 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
8Tennis
4Baseball
4Tracks
2Basketball
2Soccer
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wiscasset: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 53 | 64 | 73 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Wiscasset →
Next door
Wiscasset 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiscasset | 9% | 0.5 | 4 | 20% | C+ |
| Woolwich | 8% | 0.2 | 55 | 7% | B− |
| Alna | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Westport Island | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Edgecomb | 15% | 0.9 | 20 | 3% | B |
| Newcastle | 17% | 0.7 | 38 | 28% | B+ |
| Dresden | 6% | 0.2 | 53 | 1% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wiscasset
Where can I hike in Wiscasset?
The longest trail networks: Eaton Farm Preserve, 1.8 miles; Sortwell Memorial Forest, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wiscasset is conserved land?
9% 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 Wiscasset’s trails?
Eaton Farm Preserve and Sortwell Memorial Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wiscasset?
1,431 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wiscasset or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wiscasset have?
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #106 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 Wiscasset 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 →