Freedom Town Forest
Nature preserve
2,439 acres17.6 mi of trail
Jackman Ridge TrailOld Pequawket TrailOld Pequawket Connector TrailMary's Mountain Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Freedom
Freedom has 463 acres of parks, 310 for every 1,000 residents
22% of Freedom’s land is conserved, about 4,820 acres. 51 miles of mapped trail cross Freedom, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Freedom Town Forest (17.6 mi), Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve (2.1 mi), Dr. Melvin A. Harmon Preserve (1.9 mi).
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
4,820 acres · of 34.7 sq mi of land
Trails
51 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
463 ac
310 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,755 ft
Cragged Mountain
Lakes & rivers
11
What kind of outdoors town is Freedom?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Freedom have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Freedom is ahead of 82% 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 Freedom’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (51 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land310 acres of park per 1,000 residents (463 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home5% of residents within a half mile of a park · NH 40% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 82%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Freedom’s 22% is ahead of 66% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
Water is 8% of Freedom’s area (3 of 38 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
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 Freedom Town Forest, with 17.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
1,310 acres2.1 mi of trail
Forest Ecology Loop
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Dr. Melvin A. Harmon Preserve
Managed by Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
299 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Thomas H. Carpenter Preserve
Managed by Green Mountain Conservation Group
130 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Freedom Town Forest2,439 acres · 17.6 mi of trail
DirectionsOssipee Pine Barrens Preserve1,310 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsDr. Melvin A. Harmon Preserve299 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Thomas H. Carpenter Preserve130 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Green Mountain Conservation Group
Guy I. Burch Forest20 acres · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
West Branch Conservation Land4 acres · Madison Conservation Commission
Eaton Town Forest2 acres · Town of Eaton
Who protects it
4,820 conserved acres
22% of Freedom’s land. Water is left out: Freedom has 34.7 square miles of land and 3.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Freedom’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land3,736 ac
State natural resources2,482 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,811 ac
Town or city5 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Not recorded785 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,888 acUnknown Easement · 2,601 acPrivate Conservation · 1,944 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,258 acLocal Other or Unknown · 58 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,747 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossipee Pine Barrens Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,258 | Unknown |
| Dr. Melvin Harmon Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 310 | Unknown |
| Nason Brook Tracts Private Conservation | Not recorded | 183 | Unknown |
| Thomas H. Carpenter Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 124 | Unknown |
| Freedom Village Water Precinct Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 40 | Unknown |
| Town of Madison Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 35 | Unknown |
| Watts / Earle Trust Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Unknown |
| Dr. Melvin A. Harmon Preserve LVT Private Conservation | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Everett Parker Property Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Guy I. Burch Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Freedom
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Freedom
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Freedom
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Freedom
Cragged Mountain1,755 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Mountain1,450 ft elevation
DirectionsYoungs Hill1,398 ft elevation
DirectionsDurgin Hill1,329 ft elevation
DirectionsWatson Hill1,142 ft elevation
DirectionsMary's Mountain945 ft elevation · In Freedom Town Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in Freedom
Camp Cody
DirectionsCamp HuckinsCarroll County YMCA
DirectionsCamp Robin Hood
DirectionsDanforth Bay Camping & RV Resort
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.8 miHorses · 1.8 miUnpaved · 24.9 mi
Jackman Ridge Trail3.1 mi
Old Pequawket Trail1.8 mi
Old Pequawket Connector Trail1.7 mi
Forest Ecology Loop1.1 mi
Mary's Mountain Trail0.9 mi
Trout Pond Loop Trails0.4 mi
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
8Tennis
3Pickleball
2Basketball
2Baseball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Freedom: 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) | 29 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
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 Freedom →
Next door
Freedom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom | 22% | 1.5 | 310 | 5% | A− |
| Ossipee | 21% | 1.6 | 84 | 21% | A− |
| Effingham | 30% | 1.0 | 405 | 24% | A |
| Eaton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Madison | 16% | 1.4 | 161 | 25% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Freedom
Where can I hike in Freedom?
The longest trail networks: Freedom Town Forest, 17.6 miles; Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve, 2.1 miles; Dr. Harmon Preserve, 1.9 miles; Thomas H. Carpenter Preserve, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Freedom is conserved land?
22% 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 Freedom’s trails?
Freedom Town Forest and Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Freedom?
12,553 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Freedom or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 493 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Freedom have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Freedom 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 →