Musquash Conservation Area
Managed by Hudson Conservation Commission
479 acres7.5 mi of trail
Musquash Brook TrailGumpus Pond Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hills House · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hudson
Hudson has 42 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Musquash Conservation Area (7.5 mi), Benson Park (4 mi), Hudson Town Forest (1 mi). 8% of Hudson’s land is conserved, about 1,477 acres. 435 acres are parks and preserves, 17 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #91 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,477 acres · of 28.3 sq mi of land
Trails
42 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
435 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Highest peak
499 ft
Bush Hill
Lakes & rivers
17
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hudson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hudson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hudson is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #91 of 126 in New Hampshire. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hudson’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (42 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (435 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13BParks close to home48% 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 74%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 28%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Hudson’s 8% is ahead of 8% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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 Musquash Conservation Area, with 7.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Benson Park
Park
165 acres4 mi of trail
Haselton Farm TrailAcorn TrailOak Ridge TrailMoose Pond Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hudson Town Forest
Managed by Town of Hudson
54 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gumpas Pond Conservation Area
Managed by Pelham Forestry Commission
23 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Musquash Conservation Area479 acres · 7.5 mi of trail · Hudson Conservation Commission
Benson Park165 acres · 4 mi of trail
DirectionsHudson Town Forest54 acres · 1 mi of trail · Town of Hudson
Gumpas Pond Conservation Area23 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Pelham Forestry Commission
Jette Field5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Hudson
DirectionsBennie Eaton Hill Family Forest44 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
DirectionsSousa Field4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Hudson
Colburn Town Forest52 acres · Hudson Conservation Commission
Leslie C. Bockes Memorial Forest45 acres · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
Parker Wildlife Sanctuary45 acres · Town of Hudson
Merrill Park9 acres · Town of Hudson
Merrifield Park9 acres · Town of Hudson
Greeley Park4 acres · City of Nashua
Hudson Kiwanis Recreation Park2 acres
DirectionsTown of Hudson Skate Park1 acres
DirectionsLibrary Park1 acres
DirectionsHammond Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,477 conserved acres
8% of Hudson’s land. Who manages Hudson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city799 ac
Other state land392 ac
State natural resources60 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government45 ac
Not recorded637 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 719 acConservation Easement · 453 acLocal Park · 283 acLocal Conservation Area · 218 acResearch or Educational Area · 115 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 87 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 49 of 59 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nash Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 200 | Unknown |
| Hamblett Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 193 | Unknown |
| Benson Park Local Park | Town or city | 164 | Open |
| Hill House Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 115 | Unknown |
| Town of Hudson Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 96 | Unknown |
| Alvirne High School Tree Farm Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 77 | Unknown |
| Guertin Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 64 | Unknown |
| Pond View Subdivision Assocation Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 62 | Unknown |
| Hudson Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 54 | Unknown |
| Robinson Pond Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Hudson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hudson
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Hudson
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hudson
Hudson Dog ParkIn Benson Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Hudson
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Hudson
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Hudson
Bush Hill499 ft elevation
DirectionsBarrett Hill486 ft elevation
DirectionsMerrill Hill440 ft elevation
DirectionsKimball Hill397 ft elevation
DirectionsBreakneck Hill266 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hudson
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 10.3 mi
Haselton Farm Trail2.2 mi
Musquash Brook Trail0.8 mi
Gumpus Pond Loop Trail0.5 mi
Acorn Trail0.3 mi
Oak Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Moose Pond Trail0.3 mi
Nashua & Lawrence Electric Railroad0.1 mi
Meadow View Trail0.1 mi
Claveau Landing0.1 mi
Beaver Path0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
28Tennis
15Baseball
12Basketball
4Pickleball
3Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hudson: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Hudson →
Next door
Hudson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson | 8% | 1.5 | 17 | 48% | B+ |
| Windham | 8% | 1.8 | 24 | 40% | A− |
| Nashua | 13% | 1.5 | 14 | 82% | A |
| Pelham | 12% | 1.8 | 55 | 56% | A |
| Londonderry | 15% | 1.6 | 13 | 28% | B+ |
| Litchfield | 14% | 1.1 | 18 | 47% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hudson
Where can I hike in Hudson?
The longest trail networks: Musquash Conservation Area, 7.5 miles; Benson Park, 4 miles; Hudson Town Forest, 1 miles; Gumpas Pond Conservation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hudson 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 Hudson’s trails?
Musquash Conservation Area and Benson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hudson?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hudson?
27,931 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hudson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 435 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hudson have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #91 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 Hudson 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 →