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Gorham NH 10-25-25aPhoto: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gorham

47% of Gorham’s land is conserved: 9,540 acres

1,129 acres are parks and preserves, 421 per 1,000 residents. 66 miles of mapped trail cross Gorham, 2.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Moose Brook State Park (9.6 mi), Ice Gulch Town Forest (1.8 mi).

Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #7 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Conserved land
47%
9,540 acres · of 31.8 sq mi of land
Trails
66 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,129 ac
421 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,438 ft
Sugar Mountain
Lakes & rivers
8

What kind of outdoors town is Gorham?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild47% of the land is conserved; a typical New Hampshire town, 19%.A trail town2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 94% of U.S. towns.Room to roam421 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Gorham have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gorham is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #7 of 126 in New Hampshire. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gorham’s overall grade.
Conserved land47% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (66 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land421 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,129 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home58% of residents within a half mile of a park · NH 40% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 95%

New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Gorham’s 47% is ahead of 96% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 89% 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.

1234
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 Moose Brook State Park, with 9.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Moose Brook State Park

Nature preserve
738 acres9.6 mi of trail
CCC Perimeter Path WestPerkins PathCCC Perimeter EastLost Campground+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Ice Gulch Town Forest

Nature preserve
1,111 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Appalachian National Scenic Trail

Nature preserve
56 acres0.4 mi of trail
Mahoosuc Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Mascot Mine Natural Area

Nature preserve
11 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Moose Brook State Park738 acres · 9.6 mi of trail
Directions
Ice Gulch Town Forest1,111 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Appalachian National Scenic Trail56 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Mascot Mine Natural Area11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Gorham Common6 acres
Moose Brook Park1 acres
Who protects it

9,540 conserved acres

47% of Gorham’s land. Who manages Gorham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Forest Service5,854 ac
Private owners1,986 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits517 ac
Town or city223 ac
National Park Service57 ac
State fish & wildlife56 ac
State natural resources9 ac
National Forest · 5,854 acPrivate Conservation · 1,986 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1,134 acConservation Easement · 655 acUnknown Easement · 110 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 397 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
White Mountain National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service5,854Open
Tinker Brook
Private Conservation
Private owners1,986Unknown
Icegulch Town Forest - Town of Gorham
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded1,113Unknown
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
National Scenic or Historic Trail
National Park Service57Open
Alpine Springs
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded55Unknown
Presidential Recreational Trail
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded53Unknown
Gorham Water and Sewer Department Land
Watershed Protection Area
Not recorded49Unknown
Libby Pool
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded21Unknown
Mascot Mine Natural Area
State Conservation Area
State natural resources9Restricted
Gorham Common
Local Park
Town or city6Open
Things to do

21 places to go in Gorham

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Picnic areas in Gorham
P1In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P10In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P2In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P3In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P4In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P5In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P6In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P7In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
2 more picnic areas
P8In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
P9In Moose Brook State Park
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miHorses · 3.5 miUnpaved · 16.4 mi
Presidential Rail Trail3.5 mi
Alpine Spring2.1 mi
Stony Brook Trail2.1 mi
CCC Perimeter Path West1.6 mi
Bear Springs Trail1.5 mi
Carter-Moriah Trail1.4 mi
Carry On1.3 mi
Pine Mountain Trail1.3 mi
Pumphouse Loop1.2 mi
Perkins Path1.2 mi
15 more trails
Smitty's Trail
1.1 mi
CCC Perimeter East
1.1 mi
Pine Link Trail
1.1 mi
For Pete's Sake
1.1 mi
The Strand
1.0 mi
Deerfly
0.9 mi
Pipeline
0.7 mi
Lower Borderline
0.7 mi
Lost Campground
0.6 mi
Howie Roll
0.6 mi
Rail Path
0.4 mi
Connecting Flight
0.4 mi
Baggage Claim
0.4 mi
Pat Down
0.4 mi
Biscoff
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Androscoggin River ReservoirreservoirCascade Mill LagoonsMascot PondSwimming PoolreservoirWarming PoolreservoirAndroscoggin RiverMoose RiverPeabody River
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.

CCC Gorham TrailsBike route
10.4 mi
CCC Moose Brook trailsBike route
8.2 mi
Cross New Hampshire Adventure TrailBike route
4.8 mi
Presidential Rail TrailBike route
3.5 mi
CCC Hub North trailsBike route
1.3 mi
Courts & fields
3Tennis
2Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place 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.

History →
George Washington Noyes HouseBuilding · listed 2016
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Gorham: May, 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.815.515.214.012.410.99.58.9
High (°F)273140536775797870574433
Rain (in)2.82.43.03.63.74.34.33.83.34.83.43.6

February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Gorham →

Next door

Gorham and its neighbors

Gorham has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Randolph88 miGorham66 miBerlin63 miShelburne51 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Gorham47%2.142158%A+
Berlin62%1.082477%A+
Randolph— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Shelburne— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Gorham

Where can I hike in Gorham?

The longest trail networks: Moose Brook State Park, 9.6 miles; Ice Gulch Town Forest, 1.8 miles; Appalachian National Scenic Trail, 0.4 miles; Mascot Mine Natural Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Gorham is conserved land?

47% 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 Gorham’s trails?

Moose Brook State Park and Ice Gulch Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Gorham?

129,448 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gorham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,732 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Gorham have?

Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Gorham neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →