Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
1,477 acres6.3 mi of trail
Cooks Pond Forest LoopOssipee Pine Barrens Accessible TrailWest Branch Trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison
Madison has 431 acres of parks, 161 for every 1,000 residents
56 miles of mapped trail cross Madison, 1.4 per square mile of land. 16% of Madison’s land is conserved, about 3,828 acres. The biggest trail networks: Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve (6.3 mi), Madison Boulder Woods Preserve (1.2 mi), Goodwin-Burke Town Forest (1 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #53 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,828 acres · of 38.5 sq mi of land
Trails
56 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
431 ac
161 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,545 ft
Lyman Mountain
Lakes & rivers
14
10 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Madison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #53 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 Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (56 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land161 acres of park per 1,000 residents (431 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home25% 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 84%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 58%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Madison’s 16% is ahead of 40% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
Water is 6% of Madison’s area (2 of 41 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
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 Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve, with 6.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Madison Boulder Woods Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
217 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Goodwin-Burke Town Forest
Managed by Madison Conservation Commission
354 acres1 mi of trail
Old Pequawket Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hartshorne Conservation Easement
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
287 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Louise S. Wold Conservation Land
Managed by Madison Conservation Commission
71 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Freedom Town Forest
Nature preserve
229 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cascades Town Land
Managed by Town of Madison
25 acres0.4 mi of trail
Madison Cascade Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Madison Boulder Natural Area
Managed by State of NH Parks & Rec
16 acres0.3 mi of trail
Wayside Geological Park
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 16 parks & preserves
Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve1,477 acres · 6.3 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsMadison Boulder Woods Preserve217 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsGoodwin-Burke Town Forest354 acres · 1 mi of trail · Madison Conservation Commission
Hartshorne Conservation Easement287 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
Louise S. Wold Conservation Land71 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Madison Conservation Commission
Freedom Town Forest229 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Cascades Town Land25 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Town of Madison
Madison Boulder Natural Area16 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · State of NH Parks & Rec
DirectionsWest Branch Conservation Land55 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Madison Conservation Commission
DirectionsHoyt Wildlife Sanctuary51 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Audubon Society of NH
DirectionsNickerson Town Forest21 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Madison Conservation Commission
McNair Conservation Easement190 acres · Madison Conservation Commission
Stuart Mudd Memorial Nature Preserve105 acres · Madison Conservation Commission
Lyman Town Forest34 acres · Madison Conservation Commission
Big Island Conservation Land3 acres · Madison Conservation Commission
Kennett Park1 acres · Town of Madison
Who protects it
3,828 conserved acres
16% of Madison’s land. Water is left out: Madison has 38.5 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,831 ac
Other state land1,341 ac
Town or city1,205 ac
State natural resources233 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government91 ac
Not recorded773 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,643 acPrivate Conservation · 1,531 acForest Stewardship Easement · 860 acUnknown Easement · 628 acLocal Other or Unknown · 428 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,500 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 43 of 54 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossipee Pine Barrens Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,162 | Unknown |
| Goodwin Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 241 | Unknown |
| Madison Boulder Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 217 | Unknown |
| Town of Madison Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 145 | Unknown |
| Stuart Mudd Memorial Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 102 | Unknown |
| Louise S. Wold Conservation Land Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 71 | Unknown |
| Ward Parcel Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 57 | Unknown |
| Everett Parker Property Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| Hoyt Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| West Branch Conservation Land Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 45 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
30 places to go in Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Madison
Boulder Beach
DirectionsEidelweiss Beach
DirectionsGeneva Beach
DirectionsNichols Beach
DirectionsPorridge Shore Beach
DirectionsThusis Beach
DirectionsPlus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Madison
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Madison
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Madison
Lyman Mountain1,545 ft elevation
DirectionsRockhouse Mountain1,506 ft elevation
DirectionsStacy Mountain1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Ledge1,181 ft elevation
DirectionsWhitton Ledge1,178 ft elevation
DirectionsGoe Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsBlazo Mountain1,142 ft elevation · In Freedom Town Forest
Directions9 more peaks
Salter Hill1,109 ft elevation
DirectionsChamberlain Ledge938 ft elevation
DirectionsBand M Ledge928 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Hill928 ft elevation
DirectionsJackman Ridge869 ft elevation · In Goodwin-Burke Town Forest
DirectionsDeer Hill863 ft elevation
DirectionsCrothers Hill846 ft elevation
DirectionsTasker Hill751 ft elevation
DirectionsHedgehog Hill745 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 14 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.8 miHorses · 2.0 miUnpaved · 19.3 mi
Cooks Pond Forest Loop2.0 mi
Ossipee Pine Barrens Accessible Trail0.8 mi
Madison Cascade Trail0.8 mi
West Branch Trail0.7 mi
Old Pequawket Trail0.4 mi
Wayside Geological Park0.3 mi
Amden Place0.2 mi
Omega Place0.2 mi
Reinach Place0.1 mi
Zermatt Place0.1 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.
Courts & fields
4Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Madison: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Madison →
Next door
Madison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 16% | 1.4 | 161 | 25% | A− |
| Conway | 32% | 2.2 | 217 | 50% | A |
| Eaton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Freedom | 22% | 1.5 | 310 | 5% | A− |
| Albany | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Tamworth | 45% | 1.1 | 341 | 32% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison
Where can I hike in Madison?
The longest trail networks: Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve, 6.3 miles; Madison Boulder Woods Preserve, 1.2 miles; Goodwin-Burke Town Forest, 1 miles; Hartshorne Conservation Easement, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison is conserved land?
16% 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 Madison’s trails?
Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve and Madison Boulder Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison?
56,824 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 432 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #53 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 Madison 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 →