Boscawen Town Forest
Managed by Boscawen Coservation Commission
422 acres4.5 mi of trail
Boscawen Hill Loop TrailDagody Hill TrailBalancing Rock TrailColby Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Craig Michaud at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Boscawen
Boscawen has 40 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
18% of Boscawen’s land is conserved, about 2,806 acres. The biggest trail networks: Boscawen Town Forest (4.5 mi), Boscawen Village Town Forest (1.6 mi), State Forest Nursery (0.6 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #104 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
2,806 acres · of 24.9 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
43 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
801 ft
Choate Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Boscawen?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Boscawen have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Boscawen is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #104 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 Boscawen’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (43 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home21% 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 68%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 18%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Boscawen’s 18% is ahead of 48% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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 Boscawen Town Forest, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Boscawen Village Town Forest
Managed by Boscawen Coservation Commission
347 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
State Forest Nursery
Managed by NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
422 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Merrimack River State Forest
Managed by NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
53 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Boscawen Town Forest422 acres · 4.5 mi of trail · Boscawen Coservation Commission
Boscawen Village Town Forest347 acres · 1.6 mi of trail · Boscawen Coservation Commission
State Forest Nursery422 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
Merrimack River State Forest53 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
Hirst Wildlife Management Area153 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · NH Fish & Game
Boscawen Town Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWoodman Forest91 acres · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Cabot Memorial Forest60 acres · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
Boscawen Congregational Church Park18 acres
Muchyedo Banks Wildlife Management Area6 acres · NH Fish & Game
River Land Conservation Area1 acres · Canterbury Conservation Commission
Weir Road Lot1 acres · City of Concord
Who protects it
2,806 conserved acres
18% of Boscawen’s land. Who manages Boscawen’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land636 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits255 ac
Town or city204 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government179 ac
State fish & wildlife158 ac
State natural resources5 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)4 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 778 acState Resource Management Area · 579 acConservation Easement · 388 acLocal Resource Management Area · 381 acAgricultural Easement · 324 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 281 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 35 of 43 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrimack County Farm Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 603 | Unknown |
| State Forest Nursery State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 422 | Unknown |
| Sanborn - Agricultural Preservation Restriction Private Agricultural | Other state land | 317 | Unknown |
| Boscawen Town Lot Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 301 | Unknown |
| Merrimack River State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 157 | Unknown |
| Hirst Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 150 | Restricted |
| Woodman Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 93 | Unknown |
| Transfer Station Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 92 | Unknown |
| Town of Boscawen Land Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 75 | Unknown |
| Penacook Boscawen Water Precinct Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 74 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Boscawen
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Boscawen
Riverland Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Boscawen
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Boscawen
Boscawen Town Park Boat Ramp
DirectionsMerrimack County Boat Launching Facility
DirectionsPeaks in Boscawen
Choate Hill801 ft elevation
DirectionsKnowlton Hill692 ft elevation
DirectionsDagody Hill571 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 14.3 miHorses · 7.6 miUnpaved · 27.8 mi
Northern Rail Trail7.6 mi
Winter only2.1 mi
Boscawen Hill Loop Trail1.1 mi
Dagody Hill Trail0.7 mi
Balancing Rock Trail0.5 mi
Colby Trail0.5 mi
Blue Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Hirst Marsh Trail0.2 mi
Hardy Bypass0.2 mi
Valley of Industry0.2 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.
Northern Rail TrailBike route
7.6 miCourts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Boscawen: 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 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Boscawen →
Next door
Boscawen 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boscawen | 18% | 1.6 | 11 | 21% | B+ |
| Webster | 24% | 0.8 | 140 | 30% | A− |
| Canterbury | 19% | 1.1 | 99 | 8% | A− |
| Northfield | 3% | 1.7 | 75 | 42% | B+ |
| Concord | 26% | 2.2 | 24 | 72% | A |
| Salisbury | 21% | 0.7 | 139 | 16% | A− |
| Franklin | 22% | 1.9 | 21 | 63% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Boscawen
Where can I hike in Boscawen?
The longest trail networks: Boscawen Town Forest, 4.5 miles; Boscawen Village Town Forest, 1.6 miles; State Forest Nursery, 0.6 miles; Merrimack River State Forest, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Boscawen is conserved land?
18% 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 Boscawen’s trails?
Boscawen Town Forest and Boscawen Village Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Boscawen?
7,470 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Boscawen or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 43 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Boscawen have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #104 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 Boscawen 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 →