Low State Forest
Managed by New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
1,024 acres0.9 mi of trail
Low State Forest
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bradford
Bradford has 127 acres of parks, 81 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Bradford’s land is conserved, about 3,044 acres. The biggest trail networks: Low State Forest (0.9 mi). 22 miles of mapped trail cross Bradford, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,044 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
127 ac
81 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
2,103 ft
Ayers Pond Peak
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Bradford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bradford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bradford is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. 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 Bradford’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land81 acres of park per 1,000 residents (127 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home38% 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 77%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Bradford’s 13% is ahead of 32% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 5% 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 Low State Forest, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bradford Bog
Managed by Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
157 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Aiken Pasture (Bradford Town Forest)
Managed by Bradford Conservation Commission
134 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bradford Bog Headwaters
Managed by Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
72 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Low State Forest1,024 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
Whitman Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Bradford Conservation Commission
Bradford Springs21 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
DirectionsBradford Bog157 acres · Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
DirectionsAiken Pasture (Bradford Town Forest)134 acres · Bradford Conservation Commission
Bradford Bog Headwaters72 acres · Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
West Meadow Wetland Conservation Area46 acres · Bradford Conservation Commission
Pearl Town Forest37 acres · Bradford Conservation Commission
Warren Brook Park11 acres · Town of Bradford
DirectionsBradford Pines Natural Area6 acres · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
French's Park5 acres · Town of Bradford
The Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,044 conserved acres
13% of Bradford’s land. Who manages Bradford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,657 ac
State natural resources1,425 ac
Other state land516 ac
Town or city65 ac
Joint30 ac
Not recorded194 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,486 acState Resource Management Area · 934 acUnknown Easement · 552 acForest Stewardship Easement · 516 acOther Easement · 150 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,859 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 33 of 45 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 934 | Unknown |
| West Meadow Wetland Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| Langley Conservation Land Private Conservation | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Transfer Station Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 42 | Unknown |
| Pearl Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 39 | Unknown |
| Naughton Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Town Conservation Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Penhallow Lots Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Unknown |
| Bradford Bog Addition Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 8 | Unknown |
| L. Dodge Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Bradford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bradford
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bradford
Bradford Town Boat Ramp
DirectionsPeaks in Bradford
Ayers Pond Peak2,103 ft elevation
DirectionsKnights Hill1,880 ft elevation · In Low State Forest
DirectionsAvery Ledge1,870 ft elevation
DirectionsRowes Hill1,722 ft elevation
DirectionsSilver Hill1,631 ft elevation
DirectionsPickett Hill - South Peak1,617 ft elevation
DirectionsPickett Hill1,601 ft elevation
DirectionsHaystack Mountain1,578 ft elevation
Directions5 more peaks
Goodwin Hill1,339 ft elevation
DirectionsGuild Hill1,152 ft elevation
DirectionsHogg Hill1,145 ft elevation
DirectionsJewett Hill1,032 ft elevation
DirectionsCedar Hill961 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 16.3 mi
Low State Forest0.3 mi
Woodview Heights0.3 mi
Tilly Wheeler Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bradford: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bradford →
Next door
Bradford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 13% | 0.6 | 81 | 38% | A− |
| Warner | 31% | 0.8 | 423 | 33% | A |
| Newbury | 34% | 1.1 | 1,543 | 32% | A |
| Washington | 38% | 1.3 | 4,964 | 42% | A |
| Hillsborough | 19% | 1.0 | 63 | 41% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bradford
Where can I hike in Bradford?
The longest trail networks: Low State Forest, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bradford 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 Bradford’s trails?
Low State Forest and Bradford Bog don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bradford?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bradford?
15,239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bradford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 379 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bradford have?
Ahead of 77% 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 Bradford 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 →