Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
232 acres2.7 mi of trail
Ocean View LoopFlint Point LoopPrice Neck Overlook
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Middletown
Middletown has 20 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
19% of Middletown’s land is conserved, about 1,583 acres. The biggest trail networks: Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge (2.7 mi), Middletown Valley Park (1.4 mi), Norman Bird Sanctuary (1.2 mi). 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #16 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
1,583 acres · of 12.7 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
153 ac
9.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
157 ft
Bliss Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Middletown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 90% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild19% of the land is conserved; a typical Rhode Island town, 19%.Parks close to home84% of residents live within a half mile of a park.History along the way15 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middletown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middletown is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #16 of 38 in Rhode Island. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Middletown’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical RI town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · RI 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land9.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (153 acres) · RI 21 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home84% 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 85%
LessMore
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 59%
Rhode Island towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Middletown’s 19% is ahead of 54% of Rhode Island towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% of them.
Water is 14% of Middletown’s area (2 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
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 Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Middletown Valley Park
Park
51 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Norman Bird Sanctuary
Nature preserve
223 acres1.2 mi of trail
Quarry Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge232 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
DirectionsMiddletown Valley Park51 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsNorman Bird Sanctuary223 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAlbro Woods10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPurgatory Chasm2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Paradise Valley Park21 acres
DirectionsLinden Park5 acres
Dunlap-Wheeler Park1 acres
DirectionsGreen End Fort1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,583 conserved acres
19% of Middletown’s land. Water is left out: Middletown has 12.7 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Middletown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,538 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service483 ac
Town or city384 ac
Joint342 ac
State conservation64 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land43 ac
State natural resources19 ac
Conservation Easement · 879 acUnknown Easement · 729 acLocal Recreation Area · 554 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 483 acAgricultural Easement · 186 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 795 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 73 of 142 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 483 | Restricted |
| Nf 35 Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 229 | Open |
| Trail Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 168 | Open |
| Perry Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 80 | Open |
| City of Newport Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 58 | Unknown |
| Nf Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Nf 34 Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Sachuest Point Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 19 | Unknown |
| Valley View Subdivision Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Grey Craig Overlook Private Conservation | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
37 places to go in Middletown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Middletown
Atlantic Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Middletown
25 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Middletown
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Middletown
Observation PlatformIn Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsObservation TowerIn Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsObservation TowerIn Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Middletown
Bliss Hill157 ft elevation
DirectionsBarker Hill102 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Middletown
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.8 mi
Ocean View Loop1.2 mi
Flint Point Loop1.1 mi
Sakonnet Greenway0.7 mi
Quarry Trail0.3 mi
Price Neck Overlook0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Baseball
15Tennis
12Basketball
6Lacrosse
5Equestrian
1Football
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
WhitehallBuilding · listed 1970
About itLyman C. Joseph HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itParadise SchoolBuilding · listed 1978
About itBailey FarmBuilding · listed 1984
About itTaylor-Chase-Smythe HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itWitherbee SchoolBuilding · listed 1989
About itClambake Club of NewportBuilding · listed 1995
About itHamilton Hoppin HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About itBoyd's WindmillBuilding · listed 2001
About itSt. George's School-Church of St. George, Little Chapel, and Memorial SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itDennis J. Murphy House at Ogden FarmBuilding · listed 2007
About itSmith-Gardiner-Norman Farm Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008
About it3 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Middletown: 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 | 57 | 66 | 75 | 81 | 80 | 74 | 63 | 53 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 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 Middletown →
Next door
Middletown and its neighbors
Middletown has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown | 19% | 1.6 | 9 | 84% | A− |
| Newport East | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Portsmouth | 35% | 1.5 | 16 | 64% | A |
| Newport | 11% | 2.1 | 20 | 96% | A |
| Melville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Jamestown | 32% | 1.2 | 72 | 69% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Middletown
Where can I hike in Middletown?
The longest trail networks: Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge, 2.7 miles; Middletown Valley Park, 1.4 miles; Norman Bird Sanctuary, 1.2 miles; Albro Woods, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middletown is conserved land?
19% 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 Middletown’s trails?
Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge and Middletown Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Middletown?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Middletown?
6,949 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middletown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 153 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middletown have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 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 Middletown 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 →