Whitten Woods
Managed by New England Forest Foundation
492 acres5.5 mi of trail
North Peak TrailMain Junction TrailSouth Peak Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ashland
28% of Ashland’s land is conserved: 2,010 acres
16 miles of mapped trail cross Ashland, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Whitten Woods (5.5 mi), Homestead Forest Conservation Area (3.7 mi). 7 acres are parks and preserves, 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
2,010 acres · of 11.2 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
7 ac
3.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,375 ft
Hicks Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Ashland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ashland is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land3.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home42% of residents within a half mile of a park · NH 40% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Ashland’s 28% is ahead of 79% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
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.
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 Whitten Woods, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Homestead Forest Conservation Area
Managed by Lakes Region Conservation Trust
581 acres3.7 mi of trail
Devil's Den TrailGibban LoopWinona Ledge TrailGibban Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stevens Memorial Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation
173 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Church Hill Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
165 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Whitten Woods492 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · New England Forest Foundation
DirectionsHomestead Forest Conservation Area581 acres · 3.7 mi of trail · Lakes Region Conservation Trust
DirectionsNewsom Memorial Forest33 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
Stevens Memorial Forest173 acres · New England Forestry Foundation
Church Hill Wildlife Management Area165 acres · NH Fish & Game
Pemi Oxbow Preserve95 acres · Squam Lakes Conservation Society
Scribner-Fellows State Forest54 acres · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
L. W. Packard Ballfield6 acres · Town of Ashland
DirectionsAshland Town Beach1 acres · Town of Ashland
Who protects it
2,010 conserved acres
28% of Ashland’s land. Who manages Ashland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,551 ac
Not recorded421 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,946 acUnknown Easement · 605 acPrivate Conservation · 217 acState Conservation Area · 150 acState Resource Management Area · 54 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,589 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 22 of 24 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stevens Memorial Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 182 | Unknown |
| Church Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 150 | Unknown |
| Scribner-Fellows State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 54 | Unknown |
| Newsom Memorial Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 35 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Ashland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ashland
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Ashland
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Ashland
Hicks Hill1,375 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Ashland
Edward N. Doggett CampgroundTown of Ashland
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.6 mi
North Peak Trail1.5 mi
Devil's Den Trail1.4 mi
Gibban Loop0.6 mi
Main Junction Trail0.5 mi
Winona Ledge Trail0.4 mi
South Peak Trail0.3 mi
Gibban Trail0.2 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
5Tennis
2Baseball
1Soccer
1Softball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Whipple HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itAshland Gristmill and DamDistrict · listed 1979
About itAshland Railroad StationBuilding · listed 1982
About itAshland Town HallBuilding · listed 1983
About itAshland Junior High SchoolBuilding · listed 1983
About itFirst Free Will Baptist Church and VestryBuilding · listed 1983
About itSt. Mark's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ashland: May, June, August and 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) | 29 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ashland →
Next door
Ashland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | 28% | 1.5 | 3 | 42% | B+ |
| Plymouth | 13% | 0.7 | 52 | 70% | A− |
| Bridgewater | 3% | 0.6 | 68 | 2% | B− |
| Holderness | 27% | 1.4 | 111 | 13% | A− |
| New Hampton | 15% | 0.7 | 65 | 15% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ashland
Where can I hike in Ashland?
The longest trail networks: Whitten Woods, 5.5 miles; Homestead Forest Conservation Area, 3.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ashland is conserved land?
28% 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 Ashland’s trails?
Whitten Woods and Homestead Forest Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ashland?
27,034 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ashland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 84 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
Ahead of 66% 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 Ashland 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 →