Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land
Managed by Blue Hills Foundation
400 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Barnstead
Barnstead has 48 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land (0.8 mi). 27% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Barnstead’s land is conserved, about 1,519 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #121 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,519 acres · of 43.1 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
36 ac
7.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,083 ft
Drews Hill
Lakes & rivers
13
7 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Barnstead?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barnstead have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barnstead is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #121 of 126 in New Hampshire. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Barnstead’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land7.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (36 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home27% 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 52%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 4%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Barnstead’s 5% is ahead of 3% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% of them.
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 Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cilley Meadows Wetland Area
Managed by Town of Barnstead
47 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Upper Suncook Recreation Area
Managed by Town of Barnstead
28 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Blue Hills Foundation Lands
Managed by Blue Hills Foundation
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land400 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Blue Hills Foundation
DirectionsCilley Meadows Wetland Area47 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Barnstead
Upper Suncook Recreation Area28 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Barnstead
Blue Hills Foundation Lands2 acres · Blue Hills Foundation
The Parade2 acres
Who protects it
1,519 conserved acres
5% of Barnstead’s land. Who manages Barnstead’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits901 ac
Town or city307 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government254 ac
Other state land188 ac
State fish & wildlife129 ac
Not recorded238 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,271 acLocal Other or Unknown · 391 acUnknown Easement · 254 acPrivate Conservation · 100 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,027 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 19 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 180 | Unknown |
| Narrows Bridge Road Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 100 | Unknown |
| Grau Local Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 66 | Unknown |
| Cilley Meadows Wetland Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 47 | Unknown |
| Gilmanton Road Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 39 | Unknown |
| Upper Suncook Recreation Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Pineo Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
| Stevens Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 8 | Unknown |
Things to do
22 places to go in Barnstead
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Barnstead
Plus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Barnstead
Pool 1
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Barnstead
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Barnstead
Boat Ramp
DirectionsSuncook River Access
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Barnstead
Drews Hill1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsBeauty Hill997 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Barnstead
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 13 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 19.7 mi
Phelps & Avery Rail Trail0.8 mi
Fire Lane 150.5 mi
Fire Lane 180.2 mi
Fire Lane 100.2 mi
Pig Path0.1 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
6Baseball
4Soccer
3Basketball
2Equestrian
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Foss, Oscar, Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1985
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Barnstead: 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Barnstead →
Next door
Barnstead 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstead | 5% | 1.1 | 7 | 27% | B− |
| Gilmanton | 19% | 0.9 | 193 | 34% | A− |
| Alton | 13% | 0.9 | 215 | 34% | A− |
| Pittsfield | 10% | 1.6 | 17 | 45% | A− |
| Strafford | 29% | 1.4 | 49 | 15% | A− |
| Farmington | 13% | 1.1 | 12 | 46% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Barnstead
Where can I hike in Barnstead?
The longest trail networks: Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land, 0.8 miles; Cilley Meadows Wetland Area, 0.2 miles; Upper Suncook Recreation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barnstead is conserved land?
5% 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 Barnstead’s trails?
Blue Hills Foundation Conservation Land and Cilley Meadows Wetland Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Barnstead?
12,854 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barnstead or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 290 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Barnstead have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #121 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 Barnstead 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 →