Palmer-Bartell Forest
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
1,110 acres14.8 mi of trail
Brookline Rail TrailPowerlines TrailWinding Ledges LoopBall Hill Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Brookline
Brookline has 44 miles of mapped trails, 2.2 for every square mile of land
21% of Brookline’s land is conserved, about 2,654 acres. 819 acres are parks and preserves, 143 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Palmer-Bartell Forest (14.8 mi), Hobart-Fessenden Woods (5 mi), Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park (4.4 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #17 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
2,654 acres · of 19.8 sq mi of land
Trails
44 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
819 ac
143 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Highest peak
732 ft
Russell Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Brookline?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brookline have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brookline is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #17 of 126 in New Hampshire. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brookline’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (44 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land143 acres of park per 1,000 residents (819 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home50% 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 92%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 87%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Brookline’s 21% is ahead of 62% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Palmer-Bartell Forest, with 14.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hobart-Fessenden Woods
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
471 acres5 mi of trail
Fessenden TrailSargent TrailCider Mill TrailStonehouse Ledge Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park
Park
126 acres4.4 mi of trail
Southway TrailSummit Loop TrailPerimeter TrailHeadwall Trail+1
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Nissitissit River Conservation Land
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
246 acres2 mi of trail
Keyes TrailJeff Smith TrailPotanipo Rail Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Melendy-Morrill Woods
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
450 acres1.9 mi of trail
Keough Connector
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Beaver Brook Association
Nature preserve
102 acres1 mi of trail
Potanipo Rail TrailJeff Smith Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Whitcomb-Bross Woods
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
319 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nissitissit River Park
Managed by Brookline Conservation Commission
11 acres0.4 mi of trail
Mary's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Palmer-Bartell Forest1,110 acres · 14.8 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
DirectionsHobart-Fessenden Woods471 acres · 5 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
DirectionsAndres Institute of Art Sculpture Park126 acres · 4.4 mi of trail
DirectionsNissitissit River Conservation Land246 acres · 2 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
DirectionsMelendy-Morrill Woods450 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
Beaver Brook Association102 acres · 1 mi of trail
Whitcomb-Bross Woods319 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
Nissitissit River Park11 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Brookline Conservation Commission
DirectionsTalbot-Taylor Wildlife Sanctuary70 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Townsend State Forest6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Brookline Ball Park7 acres · Town of Brookline
Bemis Road Conservation Area1 acres
Max Cohen Memorial Grove (Town Beach)1 acres · Town of Brookline
DirectionsWho protects it
2,654 conserved acres
21% of Brookline’s land. Who manages Brookline’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city666 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits239 ac
State natural resources121 ac
State parks5 ac
Not recorded1,872 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,411 acConservation Easement · 476 acLocal Conservation Area · 452 acPrivate Conservation · 319 acUnknown · 220 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 236 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 87 of 97 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Brookline Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 570 | Unknown |
| Melendy Pond Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 270 | Unknown |
| Camp Tevya Cohen Foundation Unknown | Not recorded | 220 | Unknown |
| Whitcomb Bross Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 128 | Unknown |
| Morrill Land Local Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 121 | Unknown |
| Beaver Brook Association Land Private Conservation | Not recorded | 107 | Unknown |
| Captain Douglass Acadmeny Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 104 | Unknown |
| Nissitissit River Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Not recorded | 98 | Unknown |
| Hobart-Fessendan Woods O Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 94 | Unknown |
| Palmer Conservation Land Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 81 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Brookline
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Brookline
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Brookline
Russell Hill732 ft elevation
DirectionsPotanipo Hill614 ft elevation · In Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park
DirectionsHutchington Hill564 ft elevation · In Palmer-Bartell Forest
DirectionsCoreys Hill512 ft elevation
DirectionsHobart Hill502 ft elevation
DirectionsRock Ramond466 ft elevation
DirectionsHobart Hill446 ft elevation · In Hobart-Fessenden Woods
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.7 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 17.1 mi
Brookline Rail Trail3.9 mi
Powerlines Trail1.3 mi
Ball Hill Trail1.2 mi
Potanipo Rail Trail1.0 mi
Winding Ledges Loop1.0 mi
Fessenden Trail1.0 mi
Sargent Trail0.9 mi
Cider Mill Trail0.9 mi
Stonehouse Ledge Trail0.9 mi
Hutchinson Trail0.8 mi
15 more trails
Blue Trail
0.7 miHobart Trail
0.7 miKeyes Trail
0.7 miGranite Slide Trail
0.6 miHall Trail
0.6 miBalanced Rock Trail
0.5 miRocky Hill Trail
0.5 miJeff Smith Trail
0.5 miQuarry Trail
0.5 miUpper Bartell Trail
0.4 miScabbard Mill Trail
0.4 miSouthway Trail
0.4 miBartell Trail
0.4 miSummit Loop Trail
0.4 miPerimeter Trail
0.3 miBiking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
2Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Brookline: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 74 | 61 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Brookline →
Next door
Brookline and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Brookline
Where can I hike in Brookline?
The longest trail networks: Palmer-Bartell Forest, 14.8 miles; Hobart-Fessenden Woods, 5 miles; Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park, 4.4 miles; Nissitissit River Conservation Land, 2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brookline is conserved land?
21% 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 Brookline’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Andres Institute of Art Sculpture Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brookline?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Brookline?
39,449 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brookline or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 822 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brookline have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #17 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 Brookline 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 →