Alton has 1,288 acres of parks, 215 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Alton’s land is conserved, about 5,429 acres. 60 miles of mapped trail cross Alton, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Evelyn H. & Albert D., Sr. Morse Preserve (2.6 mi), Quarry Mountain Forest (2.5 mi), Mount Major Reservation (2.5 mi).
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #60 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
5,429 acres · of 63.7 sq mi of land
Trails
60 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,288 ac
215 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,903 ft
East Quarry Mountain
Lakes & rivers
11
4 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Alton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alton is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #60 of 126 in New Hampshire. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alton’s overall grade.
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Alton’s 13% is ahead of 30% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% of them.
Water is 23% of Alton’s area (19 of 83 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.
13% of Alton’s land. Water is left out: Alton has 63.7 square miles of land and 19.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Alton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,363 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government767 ac
Town or city634 ac
State fish & wildlife486 ac
Other state land389 ac
Not recorded3,400 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,361 acPrivate Conservation · 1,883 acState Conservation Area · 801 acUnknown Easement · 651 acLocal Other or Unknown · 532 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,535 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 77 of 95 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Merrymeeting Marsh Wildlife Management Area
State Conservation Area
Not recorded
769
Unknown
Hertel
Private Conservation
Not recorded
466
Unknown
Evelyn H. and Albert D. Morse, Sr. Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded
429
Unknown
Marks Memorial Forest
Private Conservation
Not recorded
238
Unknown
Seavey
Local Other or Unknown
Other state land
227
Unknown
Alton Bay State Forest
State Resource Management Area
Not recorded
214
Unknown
Forte Point Woods - Trask Swamp Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded
170
Unknown
Eley
Local Other or Unknown
Other state land
161
Unknown
Clough Town Forest
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded
158
Unknown
Cotton-Hurd Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded
154
Unknown
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
38 places to go in Alton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
The best walking months in Alton: 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
9.0
High (°F)
30
33
42
55
67
76
81
79
71
58
46
35
Rain (in)
3.5
3.2
4.0
4.0
3.9
4.4
4.5
4.0
4.0
5.1
4.2
4.5
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Alton →
Next door
Alton and its neighbors
Alton has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alton
Where can I hike in Alton?
The longest trail networks: Evelyn H. & Albert D., Sr. Morse Preserve, 2.6 miles; Quarry Mountain Forest, 2.5 miles; Mount Major Reservation, 2.5 miles; Griswold Scout Reservation, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alton is conserved land?
13% of its land, against a typical 19% for a New Hampshire town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Alton’s trails?
Evelyn H. & Albert D., Sr. Morse Preserve and Quarry Mountain Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Alton?
12,874 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,370 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Alton have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #60 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Alton neighbors.
Photo: Ken Gallager at en.wikipedia · Public domain