High Watch Preserve
Managed by Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
2,327 acres8 mi of trail
Dearborn TrailLibby Road TrailHigh Watch TrailHanson Top Spur
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Effingham
Effingham has 774 acres of parks, 405 for every 1,000 residents
30% of Effingham’s land is conserved, about 7,533 acres. 38 miles of mapped trail cross Effingham, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: High Watch Preserve (8 mi), Pine River State Forest (4.5 mi), Heath Pond Bog Natural Area (2.4 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
7,533 acres · of 38.8 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
774 ac
405 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,857 ft
Green Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Effingham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Effingham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Effingham is ahead of 86% 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 Effingham’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land405 acres of park per 1,000 residents (774 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home24% 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 86%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Effingham’s 30% is ahead of 85% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 27% 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 High Watch Preserve, with 8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pine River State Forest
Managed by State of New Hampshire
2,220 acres4.5 mi of trail
Drake District
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Heath Pond Bog Natural Area
Managed by NH Department of Resources & Economic Development
889 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wilkinson Brook Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
520 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
High Watch Preserve2,327 acres · 8 mi of trail · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
DirectionsPine River State Forest2,220 acres · 4.5 mi of trail · State of New Hampshire
Heath Pond Bog Natural Area889 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · NH Department of Resources & Economic Development
Wilkinson Brook Preserve520 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Watts Wildlife Sanctuary394 acres · New Hampshire Audubon
Effingham Town Forest114 acres · Effingham Conservation Commission
Phillips Brook Wetland Preserve102 acres · Green Mountain Conservation Group
GMCG Natural Area42 acres · Green Mountain Conservation Group
Pine River Cherubini Preserve15 acres · Effingham Conservation Commission
Patricia and Charles H. Watts II Conservation Center14 acres · Green Mountain Conservation Group
Larry Leavitt Preserve11 acres · Effingham Conservation Commission
Who protects it
7,533 conserved acres
30% of Effingham’s land. Who manages Effingham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,224 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,180 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)42 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land42 ac
Town or city15 ac
Not recorded4,513 ac
Private Conservation · 3,041 acState Resource Management Area · 2,235 acConservation Easement · 957 acState Conservation Area · 891 acLocal Other or Unknown · 784 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 527 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 43 of 48 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine River State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2,220 | Unknown |
| Charlie Watts Tract Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1,030 | Unknown |
| Heath Pond Bog Natural Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 887 | Unknown |
| Dwight Mills Addition Private Conservation | Not recorded | 651 | Unknown |
| High Watch Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 328 | Open |
| Transfer Station 1 Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 309 | Unknown |
| Watts Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 267 | Unknown |
| Wilkinson Brook Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 204 | Unknown |
| Little Property - Watts Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 130 | Unknown |
| Hobbs Road - Town Forest Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 113 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Effingham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Effingham
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Effingham
Effingham Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Effingham
Green Mountain1,857 ft elevation
DirectionsHanson Top1,804 ft elevation · In High Watch Preserve
DirectionsWelch Top1,385 ft elevation
DirectionsDavis Top1,375 ft elevation
DirectionsColcord Hill768 ft elevation
DirectionsWoods Mountain738 ft elevation
DirectionsRumney Hill676 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Effingham
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 19.6 mi
Dearborn Trail1.4 mi
Libby Road Trail1.2 mi
High Watch Trail1.0 mi
Molly Philbrick Road (Seasonal Use)0.7 mi
Drake District0.4 mi
Bonnyman Road (Seasonal Use)0.4 mi
Hanson Top Spur0.4 mi
Simon Hill Road (Seasonal Use)0.4 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.
Courts & fields
4Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Effingham: 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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Effingham →
Next door
Effingham and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Effingham
Where can I hike in Effingham?
The longest trail networks: High Watch Preserve, 8 miles; Pine River State Forest, 4.5 miles; Heath Pond Bog Natural Area, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Effingham is conserved land?
30% 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 Effingham’s trails?
High Watch Preserve and Pine River State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Effingham?
4,785 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Effingham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 774 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Effingham have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Effingham 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 →