Union Meadows Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
122 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Wakefield
Wakefield has 117 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Wakefield’s land is conserved, about 1,411 acres. 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Wakefield, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #115 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,411 acres · of 39.6 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
117 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Highest peak
1,112 ft
Long Mountain
Lakes & rivers
16
6 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Wakefield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wakefield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wakefield is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #115 of 126 in New Hampshire. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wakefield’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (117 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home31% 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 56%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 9%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Wakefield’s 6% is ahead of 4% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 1% of them.
Water is 12% of Wakefield’s area (5 of 45 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wakefield Town Forest
Managed by Town of Wakefield
46 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wakefield Ballfields
Managed by Town of Wakefield
43 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Branch River Conservation Area
Managed by Moose Mountains Regional Greenways
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Wakefield Town Forest46 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Wakefield
Union Meadows Wildlife Management Area122 acres · NH Fish & Game
Wakefield Ballfields43 acres · Town of Wakefield
Branch River Conservation Area18 acres · Moose Mountains Regional Greenways
DirectionsPrentice Woods Preserve15 acres · Moose Mountains Regional Greenways
Turntable Park3 acres · Town of Wakefield
DirectionsMiddleton Town Forest2 acres · Town of Middleton
Association Park (PRIVATE)1 acres · BLPOA
Weeks Beach Park1 acres · Town of Wakefield
Garvin Park Playground1 acres · Town of Wakefield
DirectionsWho protects it
1,411 conserved acres
6% of Wakefield’s land. Water is left out: Wakefield has 39.6 square miles of land and 5.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wakefield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,470 ac
Joint314 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land211 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)211 ac
Other state land122 ac
Town or city37 ac
State natural resources7 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,092 acUnknown Easement · 273 acLocal Other or Unknown · 147 acPrivate Conservation · 15 acState Other or Unknown · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,235 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 27 of 44 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Parcel - Rines Rd Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 51 | Unknown |
| Town Forest Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Unknown |
| McLaughlin Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 30 | Unknown |
| Laurion Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Prentice Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Wolfeboro Railroad State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 7 | Unknown |
| Middleton Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Salmon Falls Headwaters Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Wakefield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Wakefield
BLPOA BeachIn Association Park (PRIVATE)
DirectionsBelleau Lake Public Beach
DirectionsGreat East Lake Beach
DirectionsLake Ivanhoe Beach
DirectionsLovell Lake Beach
DirectionsProvince Lake Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Wakefield
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Wakefield
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Wakefield
Long Mountain1,112 ft elevation
DirectionsProvince Mountain1,089 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill1,083 ft elevation
DirectionsDavis Hill1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsBallard Ridge1,024 ft elevation
DirectionsPray Hill997 ft elevation
DirectionsCooks Hill988 ft elevation
DirectionsCopp Hill896 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Perkins Hill774 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 16 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.7 mi
Hall Terrace0.1 mi
Gerard Terrace0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
District No. 2 SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWakefield HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itWakefield Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1983
About itFirst Free Will Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1984
About itWakefield Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itSt. John's Church, Rectory, and Parish HallBuilding · listed 1984
About itUnion HotelBuilding · listed 1989
About itWakefield Town Hall and Opera HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itUnion Railroad Station and Freight ShedBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Wakefield: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Wakefield →
Next door
Wakefield and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ossipee110 miMilton44 miEffingham38 miMiddleton34 miActon31 miBrookfield29 miNewfield28 miWakefield18 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 6% | 0.4 | 22 | 31% | B |
| Brookfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Effingham | 30% | 1.0 | 405 | 24% | A |
| Milton | 25% | 1.3 | 17 | 10% | B+ |
| Ossipee | 21% | 1.6 | 84 | 21% | A− |
| Middleton | 20% | 1.9 | 107 | 20% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wakefield
Where can I hike in Wakefield?
The longest trail networks: Wakefield Town Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wakefield is conserved land?
6% 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 Wakefield’s trails?
Union Meadows Wildlife Management Area and Wakefield Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wakefield?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wakefield?
7,141 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wakefield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 117 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wakefield have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #115 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 Wakefield 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 →