Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Audubon Society of NH
545 acres2.1 mi of trail
Red RectangleYellow rectangle
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Marlborough
Marlborough has 460 acres of parks, 209 for every 1,000 residents
22% of Marlborough’s land is conserved, about 2,837 acres. 20 miles of mapped trail cross Marlborough, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary (2.1 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
2,837 acres · of 20.4 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
460 ac
209 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,309 ft
Cooper Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Marlborough?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marlborough have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marlborough is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. 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 Marlborough’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land209 acres of park per 1,000 residents (460 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home45% 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 88%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Marlborough’s 22% is ahead of 66% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 25% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monadnock Reservation
Managed by Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
150 acres0.3 mi of trail
Shaker Farm Road North
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Devan Preserve
Managed by Monadnock Conservancy
411 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cooper Hill Community Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation
324 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary545 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Audubon Society of NH
Monadnock Reservation150 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Devan Preserve411 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Monadnock Conservancy
Allen Family Forest26 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Monadnock Conservancy
DirectionsCooper Hill Community Forest324 acres · New England Forestry Foundation
Taves Forest35 acres · Society for the Protection of NH Forests
Who protects it
2,837 conserved acres
22% of Marlborough’s land. Who manages Marlborough’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,339 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government176 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)40 ac
Town or city30 ac
Joint12 ac
Other state land7 ac
Not recorded1,011 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,924 acPrivate Conservation · 898 acForest Stewardship Easement · 501 acAgricultural Easement · 135 acLocal Other or Unknown · 124 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,784 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 50 of 77 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devan Preserve I Private Conservation | Not recorded | 311 | Unknown |
| Frechette Property Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 182 | Unknown |
| Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 173 | Unknown |
| Monadnock Reservation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 142 | Open |
| School Lease Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| Minnewawa Glen Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Common Land / Porterlane Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 28 | Unknown |
| Devan Preserve III Private Conservation | Not recorded | 27 | Unknown |
| Marlborough Water Works Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Devan Preserve II Private Conservation | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Marlborough
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marlborough
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Marlborough
Cooper Hill1,309 ft elevation · In Cooper Hill Community Forest
DirectionsWest Hill1,207 ft elevation
DirectionsPage Hill984 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 5.9 mi
Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail1.9 mi
Red Rectangle0.7 mi
Shaker Farm Road North0.3 mi
Yellow rectangle0.3 mi
Cheshire Rail Trail0.2 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.
Cheshire Recreational Rail TrailBike route
2.2 miCourts & fields
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marlborough: 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 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Marlborough →
Next door
Marlborough 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | 22% | 1.0 | 209 | 45% | A |
| Troy | 15% | 1.2 | 137 | 55% | A |
| Swanzey | 10% | 1.2 | 55 | 29% | A− |
| Roxbury | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dublin | 35% | 0.9 | 466 | 11% | A− |
| Harrisville | 23% | 1.3 | 37 | 3% | B+ |
| Jaffrey | 32% | 1.8 | 254 | 62% | A+ |
| Keene | 22% | 2.2 | 103 | 84% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marlborough
Where can I hike in Marlborough?
The longest trail networks: Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary, 2.1 miles; Monadnock Reservation, 0.3 miles; Devan Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marlborough is conserved land?
22% 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 Marlborough’s trails?
Kensan-Devan Wildlife Sanctuary and Monadnock Reservation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marlborough?
19,223 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marlborough or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 520 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marlborough have?
Ahead of 88% 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 Marlborough 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 →