Salem Town Forest
Managed by Town of Salem
352 acres5.5 mi of trail
LADI+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Salem Common Historic District · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Salem
10% of Salem’s land is conserved: 1,548 acres
The biggest trail networks: Salem Town Forest (5.5 mi). 199 acres are parks and preserves, 6.4 per 1,000 residents. 13 miles of mapped trail cross Salem, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #119 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
1,548 acres · of 24.9 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
199 ac
6.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Highest peak
377 ft
Gordons Hill
Lakes & rivers
12
2 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Salem?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salem have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salem is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #119 of 126 in New Hampshire. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Salem’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land6.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (199 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home48% 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 54%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 6%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Salem’s 10% is ahead of 14% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 2% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 Salem Town Forest, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Michele Memorial Park
Park
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Millville Street Wetland
Managed by Salem Recreation Department
46 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Salem Town Forest352 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · Town of Salem
DirectionsField of Dreams22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Field of Dreams, Inc.
DirectionsMichele Memorial Park47 acres
Millville Street Wetland46 acres · Salem Recreation Department
Hedgehog Park28 acres · Town of Salem
DirectionsMorse Field16 acres
DirectionsPalmer Field9 acres
Windham Town Forest7 acres · Windham Conservation Commission
Who protects it
1,548 conserved acres
10% of Salem’s land. Who manages Salem’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city740 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits362 ac
Not recorded572 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 584 acConservation Easement · 527 acPrivate Conservation · 424 acLocal Recreation Area · 62 acWatershed Protection Area · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 445 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 86 of 100 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Salem Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 82 | Unknown |
| Captain's Village Private Conservation | Town or city | 77 | Unknown |
| Nalbandian Private Conservation | Town or city | 71 | Unknown |
| MPG Realty Private Conservation | Town or city | 64 | Unknown |
| Reddy Home Builders Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 60 | Unknown |
| Michele Memorial Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 47 | Unknown |
| Lancaster Skating Pond Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Swamp Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Wetlands Below Millville Dam Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 42 | Unknown |
| Salem Meadow Private Conservation | Town or city | 36 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
23 places to go in Salem
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Salem
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Salem
Castaway Island Lazy River
DirectionsDog parks in Salem
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Salem
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Salem
Gordons Hill377 ft elevation
DirectionsSpicket Hill367 ft elevation
DirectionsMystery Hill364 ft elevation
DirectionsZion Hill276 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Salem
Cowbell Corner Picnic Area
DirectionsNorth Grove Catering
DirectionsTrails & water
17 named trails and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.8 mi
Salem Bike-Ped Corridor2.8 mi
L1.2 mi
A1.1 mi
D0.5 mi
I0.5 mi
C0.5 mi
Astronomical Trail0.4 mi
K0.3 mi
G0.2 mi
B0.2 mi
7 more trails
Rocky Pond Road Class 6
0.2 miH
0.2 miJ
0.2 miF
0.2 miM
0.1 miE
0.1 miPope Road Nature Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Salem Bike-Ped CorridorBike route
2.8 miCourts & fields
13Baseball
6Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 14 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Salem Common Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Salem: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 78 | 84 | 82 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Salem →
Next door
Salem and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Salem
Where can I hike in Salem?
The longest trail networks: Salem Town Forest, 5.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salem is conserved land?
10% 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 Salem’s trails?
Salem Town Forest and Michele Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Salem?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of painted or protected lanes and 1.9 of off-road paths. Named routes: Salem Bike-Ped Corridor.
Is there public land near Salem?
22,243 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salem or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 546 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salem have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #119 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 Salem 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 →