Grafton Pond Reservation
Managed by Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
908 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Grafton Pond Boat Launch Parking
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Grafton
Grafton has 39 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Grafton Pond Reservation (2.1 mi). 7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8% of Grafton’s land is conserved, about 2,114 acres.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
2,114 acres · of 41.5 sq mi of land
Trails
39 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,165 ft
Melvin Mountain
Lakes & rivers
10
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Grafton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grafton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grafton is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grafton’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (39 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13BParks close to home7% 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 59%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Grafton’s 8% is ahead of 7% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 25% 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 Grafton Pond Reservation, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Blodgett Forest
Managed by Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
114 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
88 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Grafton Pond Reservation908 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
DirectionsBlodgett Forest114 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area88 acres · NH Fish & Game
Grafton Recreation Field11 acres
DirectionsTucker Forest1 acres · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Who protects it
2,114 conserved acres
8% of Grafton’s land. Who manages Grafton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits928 ac
Town or city693 ac
Not recorded958 ac
Private Conservation · 1,503 acConservation Easement · 929 acState Conservation Area · 88 acState Other or Unknown · 58 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 465 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton Pond Reservation Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 691 | Unknown |
| Grafton Pond Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 454 | Unknown |
| Grafton Pond Class 1 EcoReserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 209 | Unknown |
| Blodgett Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 114 | Unknown |
| McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area - McDaniels Meadow State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 88 | Unknown |
| Grafton Pond State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 58 | Unknown |
| Randall Lot Private Conservation | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Maggie Randall Park Private Conservation | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Tucker Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
14 places to go in Grafton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Grafton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Grafton
Grafton Pond Boat Launch
DirectionsTewksbury Pond Boat Access
DirectionsPeaks in Grafton
Melvin Mountain2,165 ft elevation
DirectionsBarber Mountain2,136 ft elevation
DirectionsPrescott Hill1,864 ft elevation
DirectionsIsinglass Mountain1,739 ft elevation
DirectionsFord Hill1,703 ft elevation
DirectionsSmith Mountain1,644 ft elevation
DirectionsShepard Hill1,552 ft elevation
DirectionsBanks Pinnacle1,516 ft elevation
Directions3 more peaks
Prescott Hill1,496 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Pleasant1,371 ft elevation
DirectionsWilliams Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.9 miHorses · 4.4 miUnpaved · 32.3 mi
Northern Rail Trail7.3 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.
Northern Rail TrailBike route
7.3 miCourts & fields
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Grafton: 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.
| 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Grafton →
Next door
Grafton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | 8% | 1.0 | 19 | 7% | B |
| Springfield | 40% | 1.2 | 508 | 30% | A |
| Danbury | 11% | 0.8 | 16 | 5% | B |
| Orange | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Enfield | 29% | 1.2 | 9 | 35% | B+ |
| Canaan | 17% | 0.7 | 2 | 9% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grafton
Where can I hike in Grafton?
The longest trail networks: Grafton Pond Reservation, 2.1 miles; Blodgett Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grafton 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 Grafton’s trails?
Grafton Pond Reservation and Blodgett Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grafton?
10,106 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grafton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grafton have?
Ahead of 59% 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 Grafton 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 →