Franklin-McElheny Preserve
Managed by Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
24 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rollinsford
20% of Rollinsford’s land is conserved: 921 acres
9.6 miles of mapped trail cross Rollinsford, 1.3 per square mile of land. 72 acres are parks and preserves, 27 per 1,000 residents. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #33 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
921 acres · of 7.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.6 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
72 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
213 ft
Fletcher Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Rollinsford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rollinsford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rollinsford is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #33 of 126 in New Hampshire. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rollinsford’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (72 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home70% of residents within a half mile of a park · NH 40% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 74%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Rollinsford’s 20% is ahead of 57% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% 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 Franklin-McElheny Preserve, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rollinsford Town Forest
Nature preserve
49 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gold Star Park
Managed by Town of Rollinsford
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Franklin-McElheny Preserve24 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
DirectionsRollinsford Town Forest49 acres
Gold Star Park4 acres · Town of Rollinsford
DirectionsBicentennial Park1 acres
DirectionsMorton Park1 acres
Who protects it
921 conserved acres
20% of Rollinsford’s land. Who manages Rollinsford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency636 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits332 ac
Joint306 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)124 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land86 ac
State natural resources54 ac
Not recorded84 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,181 acUnknown Easement · 265 acLocal Resource Management Area · 54 acLocal Other or Unknown · 54 acAgricultural Easement · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 782 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 23 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rollinsford Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 54 | Open |
| Turcotte Field Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Town of Rollinsford Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
| Rollinsford Water and Sewer District Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Franklin Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Sandy Bank Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Unknown |
| NRCS_WRP_Rollinsford
NRCS_WRP_Rollinsford Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Rollinsford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Rollinsford
Bicentenial Park Boat RampIn Bicentennial Park
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Rollinsford
Fletcher Hill213 ft elevation
DirectionsIndigo Hill180 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Rollinsford: 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 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 35 | 44 | 56 | 67 | 76 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Rollinsford →
Next door
Rollinsford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rollinsford | 20% | 1.3 | 27 | 70% | A |
| Dover | 22% | 1.2 | 12 | 78% | A− |
| Somersworth | 12% | 1.4 | 23 | 78% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rollinsford
Where can I hike in Rollinsford?
The longest trail networks: Franklin-McElheny Preserve, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rollinsford is conserved land?
20% 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 Rollinsford’s trails?
Franklin-McElheny Preserve and Rollinsford Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Rollinsford?
5,767 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rollinsford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 148 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rollinsford have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #33 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 Rollinsford 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 →