Wellington State Park
Park
111 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bristol
Bristol has 143 acres of parks, 44 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Wellington State Park (1.5 mi), Franklin Falls Reservoir (0.8 mi). 8% of Bristol’s land is conserved, about 898 acres. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Bristol, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #94 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
898 acres · of 16.7 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
143 ac
44 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,795 ft
Bristol Peak
Lakes & rivers
6
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bristol?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bristol is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #94 of 126 in New Hampshire. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land44 acres of park per 1,000 residents (143 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home40% 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 72%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 26%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Bristol’s 8% is ahead of 9% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 5% of them.
Water is 24% of Bristol’s area (5 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Wellington State Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Franklin Falls Reservoir
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
210 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sugar Hill State Forest
Managed by NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
67 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Newfound Lake Watershed Land
Nature preserve
29 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Wellington State Park111 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsFranklin Falls Reservoir210 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
DirectionsSugar Hill State Forest67 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
Newfound Lake Watershed Land29 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsCatterall Forest172 acres · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
Kelley Park7 acres · Town of Bristol
DirectionsCummings Beach2 acres · Town of Bristol
Mill Stream Park1 acres · Town of Bristol
DirectionsWho protects it
898 conserved acres
8% of Bristol’s land. Water is left out: Bristol has 16.7 square miles of land and 5.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bristol’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits371 ac
State natural resources240 ac
Town or city120 ac
Not recorded420 ac
Conservation Easement · 491 acFederal Other or Unknown · 232 acPrivate Conservation · 194 acState Park · 114 acState Resource Management Area · 62 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 246 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Falls Reservoir Federal Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 232 | Unknown |
| Catterall Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 194 | Unknown |
| Wellington State Park State Park | Not recorded | 114 | Unknown |
| Sugar Hill State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 62 | Unknown |
| Newfound Lake State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Wildlife Preserve Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Bristol Water Source Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
Things to do
13 places to go in Bristol
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bristol
Avery-Crouse Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Bristol
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Bristol
Mooney Clark Landing
DirectionsPlus 3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Bristol
Profile FallsIn Franklin Falls Reservoir
DirectionsPeaks in Bristol
Bristol Peak1,795 ft elevation
DirectionsRoundtop1,093 ft elevation
DirectionsHemp Hill1,076 ft elevation · In Catterall Forest
DirectionsSugar Hill942 ft elevation
DirectionsLead Mine Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Football
1Softball
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 Bristol: 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) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bristol →
Next door
Bristol 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 8% | 0.7 | 44 | 40% | B+ |
| Bridgewater | 3% | 0.6 | 68 | 2% | B− |
| New Hampton | 15% | 0.7 | 65 | 15% | B+ |
| Hill | 31% | 1.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Alexandria | 17% | 1.3 | 91 | 14% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bristol
Where can I hike in Bristol?
The longest trail networks: Wellington State Park, 1.5 miles; Franklin Falls Reservoir, 0.8 miles; Sugar Hill State Forest, 0.4 miles; Newfound Lake Watershed Land, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bristol is conserved land?
8% 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 Bristol’s trails?
Wellington State Park and Franklin Falls Reservoir don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bristol?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bristol?
12,103 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bristol or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 143 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #94 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 Bristol 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 →