Gile State Forest
Managed by New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands
6,472 acres14.6 mi of trail
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge GreenwayGreat Brook TrailLarry's LoopKidder Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Springfield
40% of Springfield’s land is conserved: 11,302 acres
570 acres are parks and preserves, 508 per 1,000 residents. 53 miles of mapped trail cross Springfield, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Gile State Forest (14.6 mi), Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area (2.1 mi), Woods Without Gile (1.2 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
11,302 acres · of 43.6 sq mi of land
Trails
53 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
570 ac
508 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,290 ft
Melvin Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (53 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land508 acres of park per 1,000 residents (570 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home30% 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 89%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Springfield’s 40% is ahead of 94% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% 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 Gile State Forest, with 14.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
795 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Woods Without Gile
Managed by Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
500 acres1.2 mi of trail
Larry's Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Springfield Town Forest
Managed by Town of Springfield
374 acres1.1 mi of trail
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
594 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
11,302 conserved acres
40% of Springfield’s land. Who manages Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources6,557 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6,142 ac
Joint340 ac
Regional agency22 ac
Not recorded1,438 ac
State Resource Management Area · 6,527 acConservation Easement · 3,784 acUnknown Easement · 2,619 acState Conservation Area · 594 acLocal Resource Management Area · 388 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,207 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 37 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gile State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 6,557 | Unknown |
| McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area - McDaniels Meadow State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 372 | Unknown |
| Morgan Pond Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 235 | Unknown |
| Knowlton Lot Private Conservation | Not recorded | 188 | Open |
| McDaniels Marsh Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 132 | Unknown |
| Village District of Eastman Land Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 112 | Unknown |
| Springfield Town Forest - Kinsley Lot Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 88 | Unknown |
| Springfield Town Forest - Fogg Land Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 69 | Unknown |
| Knowlton/Petraeus State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 60 | Open |
| Springfield Town Forest - Dutchman Pond Local Resource Management Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 53 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Springfield
Springfield Town Beach
DirectionsSwimming spots in Springfield
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Springfield
Springfield Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Springfield
Melvin Hill2,290 ft elevation · In Gile State Forest
DirectionsPillsbury Ridge2,188 ft elevation
DirectionsAaron Ledge1,995 ft elevation · In Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsRoyal Arch Hill1,946 ft elevation · In Gile State Forest
DirectionsHoyt Hill1,818 ft elevation
DirectionsFogg Hill1,775 ft elevation
DirectionsPitcher Hill1,627 ft elevation
DirectionsShad Hill1,627 ft elevation · In Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area
Directions4 more peaks
Leavitt Hill1,588 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill1,562 ft elevation
DirectionsRollins Hill1,552 ft elevation
DirectionsPhilbrick Hill1,342 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 27.3 mi
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway3.6 mi
Larry's Loop2.5 mi
Deer Path1.7 mi
Protectworth Trail1.3 mi
Great Brook Trail1.0 mi
Kidder Trail0.5 mi
Quaker Path0.1 mi
Craig's Corridor0.1 mi
John's Glen Connector0.1 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
4Pickleball
2Tennis
1Baseball
1Skate park
1Basketball
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Springfield: May and July 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) | 28 | 31 | 39 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 56 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.5 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Springfield →
Next door
Springfield and its neighbors
Springfield has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 40% | 1.2 | 508 | 30% | A |
| Grantham | 19% | 1.7 | 241 | 24% | A |
| Wilmot | 24% | 0.9 | 150 | 29% | A− |
| Grafton | 8% | 1.0 | 19 | 7% | B |
| New London | 21% | 1.6 | 88 | 50% | A |
| Sunapee | 17% | 0.9 | 38 | 29% | A− |
| Croydon | — 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 Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Gile State Forest, 14.6 miles; Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area, 2.1 miles; Woods Without Gile, 1.2 miles; Springfield Town Forest, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield is conserved land?
40% 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 Springfield’s trails?
Gile State Forest and Carter Brook Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Springfield?
11,297 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 618 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 89% 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 Springfield 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 →