Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
415 acres4.6 mi of trail
Cross Refuge TrailFoster Cove TrailGrassy Point Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Charlestown
35% of Charlestown’s land is conserved: 8,184 acres
2,746 acres are parks and preserves, 341 per 1,000 residents. 60 miles of mapped trail cross Charlestown, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge (4.6 mi), Kimball Refuge (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #9 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
Conserved land
35%
8,184 acres · of 36.5 sq mi of land
Trails
60 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,746 ac
341 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
Highest peak
187 ft
Shumunkanuc Hill
Lakes & rivers
15
9 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Charlestown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charlestown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charlestown is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 38 in Rhode Island. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Charlestown’s overall grade.
Conserved land35% of the land · typical RI town 19% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (60 mi) · RI 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land341 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,746 acres) · RI 21 · U.S. 13AParks close to home40% of residents within a half mile of a park · RI 72% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 78%
Rhode Island towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Charlestown’s 35% is ahead of 92% of Rhode Island towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% of them.
Water is 39% of Charlestown’s area (23 of 59 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
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 Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, with 4.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kimball Refuge
Nature preserve
29 acres0.5 mi of trail
Vin Gormley TrailToupoysett Pond Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Who protects it
8,184 conserved acres
35% of Charlestown’s land. Water is left out: Charlestown has 36.5 square miles of land and 22.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Charlestown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,473 ac
State conservation2,024 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,757 ac
State natural resources431 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land171 ac
Town or city98 ac
Other state land75 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,526 acState Park · 2,542 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 1,756 acState Resource Management Area · 1,578 acPrivate Conservation · 1,385 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 937 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 139 of 171 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burlingame State Park | Not recorded | 2,207 | Unknown |
| Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,756 | Restricted |
| Burlingame Management Area State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,157 | Unknown |
| Indian Cedar Swamp Barrens Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 844 | Unknown |
| Nf Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 371 | Unknown |
| East Beach State Park | Not recorded | 248 | Unknown |
| Pasquiset Pond Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 213 | Unknown |
| Shumunkanuc State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 207 | Unknown |
| Shelter Harbor Golf Club Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 125 | Unknown |
| Pawcatuck River Sandbarrens State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 110 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
32 places to go in Charlestown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Charlestown
Burlingame State Park Beach
DirectionsEast Beach
DirectionsNinigret Beach
DirectionsSam Ferrenti East Beach Town Beach
DirectionsSam Ferretti Blue Shutters Town Beach
DirectionsPlus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Charlestown
9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Charlestown
Scheidler Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Charlestown
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Charlestown
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Charlestown
Shumunkanuc Hill187 ft elevation
DirectionsIndian Burying Hill138 ft elevation
DirectionsBorder Hill69 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Charlestown
Little Nini Pavillion
DirectionsPicnic Pavilion
DirectionsPlus 2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Charlestown
Camp Watchaug (Westerly YMCA)Westerly (Ocean Community) YMCA
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.7 miHorses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 26.4 mi
North South Trail3.7 mi
North South/Vin Gormley Trail3.4 mi
Sammy C Trail2.6 mi
Vin Gormley Trail2.0 mi
Ellison "Tarzan" Brown Loop1.8 mi
Burlingame Trail1.7 mi
Moraine Loop1.6 mi
Cross Refuge Trail1.4 mi
White Trail1.4 mi
Old Pasture Loop1.3 mi
15 more trails
Ridge Trail
0.9 miFoster Cove Trail
0.9 miGrassy Point Trail
0.8 miNarragansett Trail
0.7 miPotter Hoxie Trail
0.7 miRiver Trail
0.7 miWatchaug Pond Trail
0.5 miGrassland Loop
0.4 miSplit Rock Loop
0.4 miGrassland Loop / Ellison "Tarzan" Brown Loop
0.4 miGrassland Loop / Narragansett Trail
0.3 miGrassland Loop / Old Pasture Loop
0.3 miMoraine Loop /Old Pasture Loop
0.3 miTunoopa Trail
0.3 miOcean View Trail
0.2 miBiking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
26Tennis
7Pickleball
5Basketball
4Baseball
2Volleyball
1Soccer
1Field hockey
1Disc golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
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.
Fort NinigretSite · listed 1970
About itIndian Burial GroundSite · listed 1970
About itBabcock HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itSheffield HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itJoseph Jeffrey HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itDistrict Schoolhouse No. 2Building · listed 1980
About itJoseph Stanton HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Charlestown: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 40 | 47 | 56 | 66 | 74 | 80 | 80 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
July is the driest month (3.0 in) and the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Charlestown →
Next door
Charlestown and its neighbors
Charlestown has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Charlestown60 miRichmond59 miWesterly55 miHopkinton52 miSouth Kingstown50 miCarolina3.1 miBradford2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlestown | 35% | 1.6 | 341 | 40% | A |
| Richmond | 34% | 1.5 | 22 | 21% | A− |
| South Kingstown | 32% | 0.9 | 76 | 92% | A+ |
| Hopkinton | 20% | 1.2 | 169 | 32% | A |
| Carolina | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Westerly | 27% | 1.9 | 17 | 73% | A |
| Bradford | — 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 Charlestown
Where can I hike in Charlestown?
The longest trail networks: Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, 4.6 miles; Kimball Refuge, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charlestown is conserved land?
35% 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 Charlestown’s trails?
Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and Kimball Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Charlestown?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Charlestown?
11,865 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charlestown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,818 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Charlestown have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 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 Charlestown 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 →