Cardigan Mountain State Forest
Managed by New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
4,932 acres15.2 mi of trail
Mowglis TrailSkyland TrailWest Ridge TrailSouth Ridge Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Orange
Few parks or trails are on the map in Orange
The biggest trail networks: Cardigan Mountain State Forest (15.2 mi). 38% of Orange’s land is conserved, about 5,626 acres. 31 miles of mapped trail cross Orange, 1.3 per square mile of land.
Conserved land
38%
5,626 acres · of 23.1 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,136 ft
Mount Cardigan
Lakes & rivers
2
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 Cardigan Mountain State Forest, with 15.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sudrabin Forest
Managed by Society for the Protection of NH Forests
54 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cardigan Reservation
Managed by Appalachian Mountain Club
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kimball Hill Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game Department
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,626 conserved acres
38% of Orange’s land. Who manages Orange’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,899 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,226 ac
Town or city15 ac
Not recorded98 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,937 acConservation Easement · 613 acUnknown Easement · 613 acPrivate Conservation · 61 acLocal Other or Unknown · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 614 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardigan Mountain State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,937 | Unknown |
| Sudrabin Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 55 | Unknown |
| Cardigan Mtn Road Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
| Cardigan Private Conservation | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
Things to do
14 places to go in Orange
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Orange
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Orange
Mount Cardigan3,136 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsFirescrew3,064 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsCardigan South Peak2,838 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsCardigan Rimrock2,792 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsOrange Mountain2,566 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsCrane Mountain2,385 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Tug2,339 ft elevation
DirectionsGrafton Knob2,201 ft elevation
Directions3 more peaks
The Pinnacle2,152 ft elevation
DirectionsHoyt Hill2,008 ft elevation · In Cardigan Mountain State Forest
DirectionsTuttle Hill1,703 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
15 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.7 miHorses · 1.8 miUnpaved · 12.5 mi
Skyland Trail2.9 mi
Mowglis Trail1.9 mi
Northern Rail Trail1.7 mi
West Ridge Trail1.4 mi
South Ridge Trail1.1 mi
Trail0.8 mi
Back 80 Trail0.7 mi
Clark Trail0.5 mi
Holt Trail0.4 mi
Hurricane Gap Trail0.3 mi
5 more trails
Vistamont Trail
0.3 miwind farm
0.2 miRanger Cabin Trail
0.2 miManning Trail
0.1 miHanging Ledge Spur
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Orange: May, August and 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 67 | 54 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Orange →
Next door
Orange 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Alexandria | 17% | 1.3 | 91 | 14% | A− |
| Canaan | 17% | 0.7 | 2 | 9% | B− |
| Grafton | 8% | 1.0 | 19 | 7% | B |
| Groton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dorchester | — 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.
Questions about parks and trails in Orange
Where can I hike in Orange?
The longest trail networks: Cardigan Mountain State Forest, 15.2 miles; Sudrabin Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
Are dogs allowed on Orange’s trails?
Cardigan Mountain State Forest and Sudrabin Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Orange?
14,701 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orange or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Orange 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 →