Charles Hodges Conservation Area
Managed by Town of Kensington
198 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kensington
28% of Kensington’s land is conserved: 2,160 acres
14 miles of mapped trail cross Kensington, 1.1 per square mile of land. 90 acres are parks and preserves, 45 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Charles Hodges Conservation Area (2.4 mi), Meetinghouse Hill (1.1 mi).
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
2,160 acres · of 12.0 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
90 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
299 ft
Indian Ground Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Kensington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kensington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kensington is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kensington’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (90 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home24% 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 81%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Kensington’s 28% is ahead of 80% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 44% 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 Charles Hodges Conservation Area, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meetinghouse Hill
Nature preserve
46 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Great Brook Conservation Area
Managed by Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
66 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Charles Hodges Conservation Area198 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · Town of Kensington
Meetinghouse Hill46 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
Sawyer Park33 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJohn W. York Memorial Forest10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Seabrook Town Forest13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Great Brook Conservation Area66 acres · Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
Moulton Ridge Town Forest42 acres
Who protects it
2,160 conserved acres
28% of Kensington’s land. Who manages Kensington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,430 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)451 ac
Town or city165 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land146 ac
Regional agency87 ac
Joint15 ac
Not recorded548 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,709 acAgricultural Easement · 510 acResearch or Educational Area · 257 acPrivate Conservation · 176 acUnknown Easement · 76 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,612 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 66 of 81 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips Exeter Academy Kensington Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 257 | Unknown |
| Kensington Learning Center Private Conservation | Not recorded | 176 | Unknown |
| Seabrook Wellfield Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 48 | Unknown |
| Moulton Ridge Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| Seabrook Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Great Meadows Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Town of Kensington Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
18 places to go in Kensington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kensington
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Kensington
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Kensington
Indian Ground Hill299 ft elevation
DirectionsMoulton Ridge295 ft elevation
DirectionsMartin Hill269 ft elevation
DirectionsHog Hill266 ft elevation
DirectionsWeymouth Hill249 ft elevation
DirectionsTowle Hill246 ft elevation
DirectionsHorse Hill243 ft elevation
DirectionsGove Hill226 ft elevation
Directions7 more peaks
Palmer Hill223 ft elevation
DirectionsPevear Hill217 ft elevation
DirectionsCottage Hill213 ft elevation
DirectionsHoosac Hill190 ft elevation · In Charles Hodges Conservation Area
DirectionsMeetinghouse Hill161 ft elevation · In Meetinghouse Hill
DirectionsRound Hill148 ft elevation
DirectionsShaws Hill102 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.6 mi
Cemetary Trail0.1 mi
Esker Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
2Basketball
2Equestrian
2Softball
1Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Kensington: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Kensington →
Next door
Kensington and its neighbors
Kensington has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | 28% | 1.1 | 45 | 24% | A− |
| East Kingston | 17% | 0.5 | 1 | 17% | C+ |
| Hampton Falls | 15% | 0.7 | 59 | 39% | A− |
| South Hampton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Exeter | 32% | 3.2 | 58 | 88% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kensington
Where can I hike in Kensington?
The longest trail networks: Charles Hodges Conservation Area, 2.4 miles; Meetinghouse Hill, 1.1 miles; Sawyer Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kensington is conserved land?
28% 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 Kensington’s trails?
Charles Hodges Conservation Area and Meetinghouse Hill don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Kensington?
16,556 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kensington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 110 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kensington have?
Ahead of 81% 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 Kensington 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 →