Gap Mountain Reservation
Nature preserve
806 acres3.4 mi of trail
Metacomet- Monadnock TrailSouth Gap MountianDonovan Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lawrence Farm · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Troy
Troy has 275 acres of parks, 137 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Troy’s land is conserved, about 1,675 acres. 20 miles of mapped trail cross Troy, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Gap Mountain Reservation (3.4 mi), Rhododendron State Park (3.4 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
1,675 acres · of 17.5 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
275 ac
137 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
3.1 mi paths
Highest peak
1,900 ft
Gap Mountain - South Peak
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Troy?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Troy have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Troy is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Troy’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land137 acres of park per 1,000 residents (275 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13AParks close to home55% 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 89%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Troy’s 15% is ahead of 37% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% 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 Gap Mountain Reservation, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rhododendron State Park
Park
750 acres3.4 mi of trail
Metacomet Monadnock Trail (White)Little Monadnock Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Farrar Field
Managed by Town of Troy
59 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Samuel E. Paul Recreational Park
Managed by Town of Troy
27 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Gap Mountain Reservation806 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRhododendron State Park750 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
Samuel E. Paul Recreational Park27 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Troy
DirectionsRosalind & Fred Slavic Wilderness Preserve14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Northeast Wilderness Trust
Farrar Field59 acres · Town of Troy
Central Square1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,675 conserved acres
15% of Troy’s land. Who manages Troy’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources570 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government557 ac
Other state land12 ac
Not recorded1,104 ac
Private Conservation · 806 acConservation Easement · 582 acUnknown Easement · 557 acState Park · 187 acLocal Other or Unknown · 111 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 571 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 12 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap Mountain Reservation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 642 | Unknown |
| Rhododendron State Park State Park | Not recorded | 187 | Unknown |
| Gap Mountain - Class 2 EcoReserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 163 | Unknown |
| Farrar Field Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 59 | Unknown |
| Richmond Road Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 28 | Unknown |
| Forest Road Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Perkins Pond Lots Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
Things to do
9 places to go in Troy
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Troy
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Troy
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Troy
Gap Mountain - South Peak1,900 ft elevation · In Gap Mountain Reservation
DirectionsGap Mountain - North Peak1,841 ft elevation · In Gap Mountain Reservation
DirectionsBigelow Hill1,549 ft elevation
DirectionsBrennan Hill1,421 ft elevation
DirectionsFern Hill1,345 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 1.9 mi
Metacomet- Monadnock Trail2.2 mi
Metacomet Monadnock Trail (White)1.3 mi
Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail0.7 mi
Little Monadnock Trail0.3 mi
South Gap Mountian0.2 mi
Donovan Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Cheshire Recreational Rail TrailBike route
0.7 miCourts & fields
1Basketball
1Baseball
1Skate park
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 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Troy: 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) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Troy →
Next door
Troy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | 15% | 1.2 | 137 | 55% | A |
| Marlborough | 22% | 1.0 | 209 | 45% | A |
| Swanzey | 10% | 1.2 | 55 | 29% | A− |
| Fitzwilliam | 8% | 1.0 | 325 | 16% | A− |
| Richmond | 14% | 1.4 | 322 | 26% | A− |
| Jaffrey | 32% | 1.8 | 254 | 62% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Troy
Where can I hike in Troy?
The longest trail networks: Gap Mountain Reservation, 3.4 miles; Rhododendron State Park, 3.4 miles; Samuel E. Paul Recreational Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Troy 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 Troy’s trails?
Gap Mountain Reservation and Rhododendron State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Troy?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: Cheshire Recreational Rail Trail.
Is there public land near Troy?
33,781 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Troy or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 275 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Troy 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 Troy 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 →