Colt State Park
Park
486 acres2.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bristol
Bristol has 17 miles of mapped trails, 1.8 for every square mile of land
12% of Bristol’s land is conserved, about 768 acres. 815 acres are parks and preserves, 37 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Colt State Park (2.8 mi), Perry-Tavares Farm Open Space (1.5 mi), Claire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #5 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
768 acres · of 9.8 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
815 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.6 mi
6.6 mi paths
Highest peak
210 ft
Mount Hope
Lakes & rivers
1
35 beaches · 8 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bristol?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 92% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild12% of the land is conserved; a typical Rhode Island town, 19%.Parks close to home89% of residents live within a half mile of a park.History along the way13 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bristol is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #5 of 38 in Rhode Island. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical RI town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · RI 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (815 acres) · RI 21 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · RI 72% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 93%
LessMore
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 89%
Rhode Island towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Bristol’s 12% is ahead of 38% of Rhode Island towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
Water is more than half of Bristol’s area (11 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Colt State Park, with 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Perry-Tavares Farm Open Space
Park
106 acres1.5 mi of trail
Blue TrailYellow TrailWhite Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Claire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge
Managed by Audubon Society of Rhode Island
52 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
The Bristol Town Common
Park
9 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 20 parks & preserves
Colt State Park486 acres · 2.8 mi of trail
DirectionsPerry-Tavares Farm Open Space106 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsClaire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge52 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Audubon Society of Rhode Island
The Bristol Town Common9 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsPaull Park20 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsIndependence Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRockwell Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of Bristol
DirectionsGooding Avenue24 acres
Naomi Street18 acres
Children's Grove8 acres
DirectionsGuiteras Park7 acres
Bristol Town Park7 acres
DirectionsVeterans Park5 acres
Silver Creek Park4 acres
DirectionsTanyard Reservoir3 acres
Francesca Street3 acres
Moriarty3 acres
8 Track2 acres
Annawanscutt Boat Launch Ramp2 acres
DirectionsSowam's Playground1 acres
Who protects it
768 conserved acres
12% of Bristol’s land. Water is left out: Bristol has 9.8 square miles of land and 10.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bristol’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits170 ac
State conservation135 ac
Town or city91 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)88 ac
State natural resources87 ac
Other state land69 ac
Joint66 ac
Conservation Easement · 338 acUnknown Easement · 226 acPrivate Conservation · 155 acLocal Conservation Area · 95 acLocal Other or Unknown · 90 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 353 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 45 of 84 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Hope Farm Private Conservation | Not recorded | 66 | Unknown |
| Deer Run Drive Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 38 | Unknown |
| Nf Local Park | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Blithewold Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 31 | Closed |
| Waypoyset Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 28 | Unknown |
| Bristol Landing Preserve Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Gooding Avenue Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| ASRI Environmental Education Center Private Conservation | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Glenview Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 15 | Restricted |
| Bristol Golf Course Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
60 places to go in Bristol
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bristol
Bristol Town Beach
DirectionsJuniper Trail Beach
Directions35 beaches are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Playgrounds in Bristol
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bristol
Colt State Park Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Bristol
Mount Hope210 ft elevation
DirectionsJuniper Hill177 ft elevation
DirectionsHalfmile Hill157 ft elevation
DirectionsKing Phillips Chair144 ft elevation
DirectionsFerry Hill138 ft elevation
DirectionsFox Hill89 ft elevation
DirectionsFort Hill62 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bristol
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miUnpaved · 1.6 mi
Blue Trail0.3 mi
Yellow Trail0.3 mi
White Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.6 mi
off-road bike paths
3.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
15Tennis
11Baseball
9Basketball
8Pickleball
5Soccer
2Beach volleyball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Bristol County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itBenjamin Church HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itBristol Customshouse and Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1972
About itLongfieldBuilding · listed 1972
About itBristol County JailBuilding · listed 1973
About itBristol Waterfront Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itMount Hope BridgeStructure · listed 1976
About itMount Hope FarmBuilding · listed 1977
About itBlithewoldBuilding · listed 1980
About itPoppasquash Farms Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itBristol Ferry LighthouseStructure · listed 1988
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bristol: 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 40 | 47 | 57 | 67 | 76 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
July is the driest month (3.2 in) and the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Bristol →
Next door
Bristol 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 12% | 1.8 | 37 | 89% | A |
| Portsmouth | 35% | 1.5 | 16 | 64% | A |
| Warren | 20% | 1.1 | 20 | 94% | A |
| Tiverton | 21% | 0.9 | 23 | 38% | A− |
| Barrington | 19% | 1.7 | 30 | 98% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bristol
Where can I hike in Bristol?
The longest trail networks: Colt State Park, 2.8 miles; Perry-Tavares Farm Open Space, 1.5 miles; Claire D. McIntosh Wildlife Refuge, 0.8 miles; The Bristol Town Common, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bristol is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 19% for a Rhode Island town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bristol’s trails?
Colt State Park and Perry-Tavares Farm Open Space don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bristol?
9.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.6 of off-road paths and 3.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Bristol?
14,080 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bristol or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 822 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 Bristol 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 →