Hooper Forest
Managed by Town of Walpole
151 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Walpole
16% of Walpole’s land is conserved: 3,570 acres
146 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. 30 miles of mapped trail cross Walpole, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Hooper Forest (0.7 mi), Fanny Mason Forest (0.6 mi), Water Company Town Forest (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #80 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,570 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
146 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,634 ft
Derry Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Walpole?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Walpole have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Walpole is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #80 of 126 in New Hampshire. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Walpole’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (30 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (146 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home32% 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 37%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Walpole’s 16% is ahead of 42% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 15% 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 Hooper Forest, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fanny Mason Forest
Managed by Town of Walpole
275 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Water Company Town Forest
Managed by Town of Walpole
112 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
High Blue Reservation
Managed by Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
218 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 22 parks & preserves
Hooper Forest151 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Town of Walpole
Fanny Mason Forest275 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Town of Walpole
Water Company Town Forest112 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Town of Walpole
High Blue Reservation218 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Society for the Prot. of NH Forests
Mill Pond Nature Sanctuary75 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Walpole
Beatrice Graves Easement80 acres
Great Brook Town Forest46 acres
Walpole Reservoir Town Forest45 acres · Town of Walpole
Hubbard Farms Wildlife Management Area38 acres · State of New Hampshire
Went Hubbard Park36 acres
DirectionsTrombley Town Forest29 acres · Town of Walpole
Bertin Town Forest19 acres
March Town Forest18 acres · Town of Walpole
Academy Ravine14 acres · Town of Walpole
Cranberry Meadow Nature Sanctuary12 acres
Merriam Town Forest11 acres · Town of Walpole
Great Island Wildlife Management Area9 acres · NH Fish & Game
Paap Wetland Conservation Area6 acres
Frank W. Whitcomb Recreational Park4 acres
Fall Mountain State Forest2 acres
Drewsville Village Green2 acres
Walpole Town Green1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,570 conserved acres
16% of Walpole’s land. Who manages Walpole’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,866 ac
Other state land437 ac
Joint302 ac
Town or city291 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)225 ac
State fish & wildlife29 ac
Not recorded1,007 ac
Conservation Easement · 4,275 acAgricultural Easement · 810 acLocal Resource Management Area · 382 acPrivate Conservation · 316 acLocal Other or Unknown · 285 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,498 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 80 of 110 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fanny Mason Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 264 | Unknown |
| High Blue Private Conservation | Not recorded | 168 | Unknown |
| Hooper Farm Woodland and Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 142 | Unknown |
| Hooper Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 136 | Unknown |
| Skofield Private Conservation | Not recorded | 95 | Open |
| Mill Pond Sanctuary Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 46 | Unknown |
| High Blue (Faulkner Tract) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Hubbard Farms Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 36 | Unknown |
| Mill Pond Nature Sanctuary Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| UNH - WENH T.V. Transmitter Site Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Walpole
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Walpole
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Walpole
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Walpole
View of Bellows Falls
DirectionsPeaks in Walpole
Derry Hill1,634 ft elevation · In High Blue Reservation
DirectionsCarpenter Hill1,401 ft elevation
DirectionsRice Mountain1,391 ft elevation
DirectionsBarnett Hill1,339 ft elevation
DirectionsCheney Hill1,263 ft elevation
DirectionsSheep Hill1,243 ft elevation
DirectionsEaton Hill1,204 ft elevation
DirectionsRamsey Hill1,142 ft elevation
Directions6 more peaks
Mount Kilburn1,109 ft elevation
DirectionsWatkins Hill1,099 ft elevation
DirectionsHitchcock Mountain873 ft elevation
DirectionsKingsbury Hill869 ft elevation
DirectionsDrew Mountain722 ft elevation
DirectionsHooper Hill712 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miUnpaved · 3.4 mi
Table Rock Trail0.9 mi
Cheshire Rail Trail0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
Cheshire Recreational Rail TrailBike route
3 miCourts & fields
4Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Walpole: May and 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Walpole →
Next door
Walpole and its neighbors
Walpole has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Westmoreland53 miWalpole30 miAlstead29 miWestminster26 miLangdon11 miRockingham8.4 miBellows Falls0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walpole | 16% | 0.8 | 40 | 32% | A− |
| Westmoreland | 10% | 1.5 | 29 | 5% | B+ |
| Langdon | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Alstead | 6% | 0.8 | 24 | 16% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Walpole
Where can I hike in Walpole?
The longest trail networks: Hooper Forest, 0.7 miles; Fanny Mason Forest, 0.6 miles; Water Company Town Forest, 0.6 miles; High Blue Reservation, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Walpole is conserved land?
16% 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 Walpole’s trails?
Hooper Forest and Fanny Mason Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Walpole?
16,018 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Walpole or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 689 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Walpole have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #80 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 Walpole 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 →