Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.014% of Lancaster’s land is conserved, about 4,617 acres. The biggest trail networks: Weeks State Park (3.6 mi). 25 miles of mapped trail cross Lancaster, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #71 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lancaster is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #71 of 126 in New Hampshire. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Lancaster’s 14% is ahead of 35% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 3% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Weeks State Park, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
14% of Lancaster’s land. Who manages Lancaster’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,044 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 43 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Mountain Purchase Unit National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,140 | Open |
| White Mountain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 450 | Open |
| Weeks State Park State Park | Not recorded | 422 | Unknown |
| Lancaster Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 258 | Unknown |
| WMRHS School Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 126 | Unknown |
| Silvio O. Conte National Fish And Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 95 | Restricted |
| Colonel Town Community Camp Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 61 | Unknown |
| Town of Lancaster Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| North Region Headquarters State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Lancaster Water Supply Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Plus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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.
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lancaster →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | 14% | 0.5 | 222 | 44% | A− |
| Northumberland | 22% | 0.3 | 124 | 55% | A− |
| Jefferson | 38% | 0.6 | 10 | 2% | B |
| Dalton | — 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.
The longest trail networks: Weeks State Park, 3.6 miles; Lancaster Town Forest, 0.3 miles; Colonel Town Recreation Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
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.
Weeks State Park and Lancaster Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
81,092 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lancaster or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,752 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #71 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Lancaster neighbors.
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 →