Eight Rod Farm
Managed by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
80 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Little Compton
32% of Little Compton’s land is conserved: 4,190 acres
129 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Little Compton, 0.5 per square mile of land. 34% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #25 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
4,190 acres · of 20.5 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
129 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
144 ft
Nootas Hill
Lakes & rivers
9
9 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Little Compton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Little Compton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Little Compton is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #25 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 Little Compton’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical RI town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · RI 1.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (129 acres) · RI 21 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home34% 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 76%
LessMore
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 35%
Rhode Island towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Little Compton’s 32% is ahead of 81% of Rhode Island towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
Water is 29% of Little Compton’s area (8 of 29 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 23%.
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 Eight Rod Farm, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Donavan Marsh
Nature preserve
55 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fogland Marsh Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
19 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,190 conserved acres
32% of Little Compton’s land. Water is left out: Little Compton has 20.5 square miles of land and 8.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Little Compton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,310 ac
State conservation655 ac
Joint628 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)420 ac
State natural resources403 ac
Other state land207 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government56 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,154 acPrivate Conservation · 1,095 acUnknown Easement · 928 acAgricultural Easement · 685 acWatershed Protection Area · 667 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,116 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 206 of 341 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watson Reservoir Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 665 | Unknown |
| Quick/Goose State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 348 | Unknown |
| Quicksand Pond/Goosewing Beach Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 232 | Unknown |
| Briggs Marsh/Truesdale Beach Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 139 | Unknown |
| Wilbour Woods Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 132 | Unknown |
| Sakonnet River Shore Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 121 | Closed |
| Sakonnet Vineyards State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 92 | Unknown |
| Eight Rod Farm Management Area State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 80 | Unknown |
| Nf Private Conservation | Not recorded | 78 | Unknown |
| Almy Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 70 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Little Compton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Little Compton
South Shore Beach
DirectionsPlus 8 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Little Compton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Little Compton
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Little Compton
Nootas Hill144 ft elevation
DirectionsWindmill Hill141 ft elevation
DirectionsSimmons Hill105 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Little Compton
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Little Compton
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.4 mi
Wilbur Woods0.6 mi
Blanche's Path0.6 mi
Dundery Brook Trail0.6 mi
Trail0.5 mi
Hiking Trail0.4 mi
John Dyer Trail0.3 mi
Hope's Path0.1 mi
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.
Courts & fields
15Tennis
2Pickleball
2Baseball
1Basketball
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 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Little Compton Common Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1974
About itSakonnet Light StationBuilding · listed 1983
About itWilliam Whalley HomesteadBuilding · listed 1988
About itRhode Island RedObject · listed 2001
About itFriends Meeting House and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2007
About itWilbor HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itStone House InnBuilding · listed 2008
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Little Compton: 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) | 39 | 40 | 47 | 56 | 66 | 75 | 81 | 80 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
July is the driest month (3.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Little Compton →
Next door
Little Compton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Compton | 32% | 0.5 | 36 | 34% | A− |
| Tiverton | 21% | 0.9 | 23 | 38% | A− |
| Portsmouth | 35% | 1.5 | 16 | 64% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Little Compton
Where can I hike in Little Compton?
The longest trail networks: Eight Rod Farm, 0.2 miles; Donavan Marsh, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Little Compton is conserved land?
32% 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 Little Compton’s trails?
Eight Rod Farm and Donavan Marsh don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Little Compton?
10,466 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Little Compton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 130 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Little Compton have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Little Compton 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 →