Franklin Falls Reservoir
Managed by United States Army Corps of Engineers
650 acres4.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sanbornton
Sanbornton has 274 acres of parks, 90 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Sanbornton’s land is conserved, about 4,664 acres. 48 miles of mapped trail cross Sanbornton, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Franklin Falls Reservoir (4.6 mi), Hersey Mountain Forest (3.1 mi), Sanbornton Town Forest (3 mi).
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #81 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
4,664 acres · of 47.4 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
274 ac
90 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,995 ft
Hersey Mountain
Lakes & rivers
10
2 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Sanbornton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sanbornton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sanbornton is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #81 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 Sanbornton’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land90 acres of park per 1,000 residents (274 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home12% 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 76%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 36%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Sanbornton’s 15% is ahead of 38% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
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 Franklin Falls Reservoir, with 4.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hersey Mountain Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation
2,131 acres3.1 mi of trail
Hersey Mtn Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sanbornton Town Forest
Managed by Sanbornton Conservation Commission
213 acres3 mi of trail
This is My Song (Blue) 1miVirginia Hutton (Yellow)Wayne Elliott (Purple) 0.6miHal Graham (Blue) 0.7mi+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Pierce Family Forest
Managed by New England Forestry Foundation
232 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Franklin Falls Reservoir650 acres · 4.6 mi of trail · United States Army Corps of Engineers
Hersey Mountain Forest2,131 acres · 3.1 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
Sanbornton Town Forest213 acres · 3 mi of trail · Sanbornton Conservation Commission
DirectionsPierce Family Forest232 acres · 1 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
Sanbornton Town Park47 acres · Town of Sanbornton
Black Brook Wildlife Management Area29 acres · NH Fish & Game
Who protects it
4,664 conserved acres
15% of Sanbornton’s land. Who manages Sanbornton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,175 ac
State natural resources690 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government87 ac
Town or city87 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)79 ac
Other state land45 ac
Not recorded2,613 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,560 acPrivate Conservation · 2,130 acUnknown Easement · 828 acFederal Other or Unknown · 690 acLocal Other or Unknown · 236 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,338 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 37 of 41 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knox Mountian Tree Farm Private Conservation | Not recorded | 709 | Unknown |
| Franklin Falls Reservoir Federal Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 690 | Unknown |
| Mike Burke Memorial Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 515 | Unknown |
| Beale (Upper) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 408 | Unknown |
| Stitzinger Private Conservation | Not recorded | 380 | Unknown |
| Sanbornton Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 217 | Unknown |
| Beale Lot Private Conservation | Not recorded | 73 | Unknown |
| Old Range Road Lots Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 70 | Unknown |
| New Boston Road Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 66 | Unknown |
| Dr True Rd Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 55 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Sanbornton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sanbornton
Hermit Lake Town Beach
DirectionsWinnisquam Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Sanbornton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Sanbornton
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Sanbornton
Hersey Mountain1,995 ft elevation · In Hersey Mountain Forest
DirectionsSanbornton Mountain1,588 ft elevation
DirectionsEastman Hill1,378 ft elevation
DirectionsHopkinson Hill1,325 ft elevation
DirectionsSteele Hill1,322 ft elevation
DirectionsCalef Hill942 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 29.3 mi
This is My Song (Blue) 1mi0.9 mi
Virginia Hutton (Yellow)0.8 mi
Hersey Mtn Trail0.6 mi
Wayne Elliott (Purple) 0.6mi0.6 mi
Hal Graham (Blue) 0.7mi0.5 mi
Red Trail 1.2mi0.2 mi
Sanbornton Boulder Trail0.2 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
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sanbornton: 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Sanbornton →
Next door
Sanbornton and its neighbors
Sanbornton has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin53 miSanbornton48 miMeredith41 miHill34 miNew Hampton26 miLaconia22 miTilton11 miBelmont9.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanbornton | 15% | 1.0 | 90 | 12% | A− |
| Franklin | 22% | 1.9 | 21 | 63% | A |
| Belmont | 7% | 0.3 | 37 | 42% | B |
| Hill | 31% | 1.3 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Laconia | 10% | 1.1 | 15 | 75% | A− |
| Meredith | 17% | 1.0 | 270 | 52% | A |
| Tilton | 1% | 1.0 | 15 | 56% | B |
| New Hampton | 15% | 0.7 | 65 | 15% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sanbornton
Where can I hike in Sanbornton?
The longest trail networks: Franklin Falls Reservoir, 4.6 miles; Hersey Mountain Forest, 3.1 miles; Sanbornton Town Forest, 3 miles; Pierce Family Forest, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sanbornton is conserved land?
15% 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 Sanbornton’s trails?
Franklin Falls Reservoir and Hersey Mountain Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sanbornton?
11,284 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sanbornton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,564 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sanbornton have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #81 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 Sanbornton 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 →