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HinsdaleNH TownHallPhoto: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hinsdale

Hinsdale has 733 acres of parks, 183 for every 1,000 residents

14% of Hinsdale’s land is conserved, about 1,874 acres. 23 miles of mapped trail cross Hinsdale, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Pisgah State Park (3.5 mi), Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area (2.8 mi), Bear Mountain State Forest (0.8 mi).

Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #56 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Conserved land
14%
1,874 acres · of 20.5 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
733 ac
183 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,309 ft
Wantastiquet Mountain
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Hinsdale?

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

Room to roam183 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild14% of the land is conserved; a typical New Hampshire town, 19%.A trail town1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 83% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Hinsdale have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hinsdale is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #56 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Hinsdale’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land183 acres of park per 1,000 residents (733 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 83%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 56%

New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Hinsdale’s 14% is ahead of 34% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 43% of them.

Water is 9% of Hinsdale’s area (2 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.

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.

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 Pisgah State Park, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Pisgah State Park

Nature preserve
659 acres3.5 mi of trail
Kilburn LoopDavis Hill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Kilburn Trailhead

Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area

Managed by NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
530 acres2.8 mi of trail
Wantastiquet Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead

Bear Mountain State Forest

Managed by NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
153 acres0.8 mi of trail
Bear Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Hinsdale Town Forest

Nature preserve
30 acres0.1 mi of trail
Davis Hill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Pisgah State Park659 acres · 3.5 mi of trail
Directions
Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area530 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
Directions
Bear Mountain State Forest153 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · NH Dept of Resources & Econ Dev
Madame Sherri Forest13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
Hinsdale Town Park13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Hinsdale
Hinsdale Town Forest30 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Millstream Waterfront Park2 acres
Directions
Who protects it

1,874 conserved acres

14% of Hinsdale’s land. Water is left out: Hinsdale has 20.5 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hinsdale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits992 ac
Other state land10 ac
State natural resources8 ac
Private owners7 ac
Joint7 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)7 ac
Not recorded1,360 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,005 acState Park · 682 acState Conservation Area · 448 acState Resource Management Area · 153 acUnknown · 39 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 496 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Pisgah State Park - Critria 1 lands
State Park
Not recorded667Unknown
Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area
State Conservation Area
Not recorded438Unknown
Bear Mountain State Forest
State Resource Management Area
Not recorded153Unknown
Hinsdale Town Forest
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded29Unknown
Ebenzer Land
Unknown
Not recorded25Open
Pisgah State Park
State Park
State natural resources15Unknown
Ebenezer Farmstead
Unknown
Not recorded15Open
Madame Sherri Forest - Class 2 EcoReserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded14Unknown
Hinsdale Town Park
Local Park
Not recorded13Unknown
Bear Mountain Connector Parcel
State Conservation Area
Other state land10Unknown

1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

10 places to go in Hinsdale

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

Peaks in Hinsdale
Wantastiquet Mountain1,309 ft elevation · In Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area
Directions
Bear Mountain1,273 ft elevation
Directions
Daniels Mountain1,217 ft elevation
Directions
Porter Hill1,165 ft elevation · In Pisgah State Park
Directions
Bear Mountain1,027 ft elevation
Directions
Tower Hill840 ft elevation
Directions
Biscuit Hill748 ft elevation
Directions
Cannon Hill482 ft elevation
Directions
1 more peak
Oak Hill433 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

11 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 10.1 miUnpaved · 17.2 mi
Ashuelot Rail Trail3.5 mi
Kilburn Loop2.6 mi
Bear Mountain Trail1.5 mi
Daniels Mountain Loop1.2 mi
Hinsdale Snowmobile Trail (approx location)1.2 mi
Wantastiquet Mountain Trail0.9 mi
Davis Hill Trail0.9 mi
Tom Duston Trail0.6 mi
Daniels Mountain Trail0.2 mi
Anne Stokes Loop Trail0.2 mi
1 more trails
Mine Ledge Trail
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Ashuelot River ReservoirreservoirConnecticut RiverConnecticut River Reservoir
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.

Fort Hill Recreational TrailBike route
6.6 mi
Ashuelot Recreational TrailBike route
3.5 mi
Courts & fields
2Baseball

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

History along the way

2 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Todd BlockBuilding · listed 1988
About it
Derby Shop-Goodnow Pail Factory-Holman & Merriman Machine Shop-L. A. Carpenter Machine Shop-Streeter ShopBuilding · listed 2007
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Hinsdale: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.0
High (°F)333745597179848275614938
Rain (in)3.33.03.63.83.64.54.34.34.34.93.54.3

February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Hinsdale →

Next door

Hinsdale and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Chesterfield62 miWinchester60 miBrattleboro43 miVernon33 miHinsdale23 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Hinsdale14%1.118332%A−
Winchester28%1.12,04936%A
Chesterfield25%1.31,33726%A

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

Questions about parks and trails in Hinsdale

Where can I hike in Hinsdale?

The longest trail networks: Pisgah State Park, 3.5 miles; Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area, 2.8 miles; Bear Mountain State Forest, 0.8 miles; Hinsdale Town Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Hinsdale is conserved land?

14% 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 Hinsdale’s trails?

Pisgah State Park and Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Hinsdale?

45,662 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hinsdale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 924 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Hinsdale have?

Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 Hinsdale 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 →