Paugussett State Forest
Managed by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
1,153 acres20.7 mi of trail
Zoar Trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Outdoors in Sandy Hook
Waterfalls, trails & woods in Sandy Hook
About 20% of Sandy Hook is conserved land, roughly 2,151 acres. There are about 28 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Paugussett State Forest (20.7 mi), Rocky Glen State Park Scenic Reserve (1.1 mi), and The Nature Conservancy Shepaug Dam (Owned) (0.6 mi).
Conserved land
20%
2,151 of 10,650 acres
Trails
28 mi
1.7 mi per sq mi · 21 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
25
218 conserved acres per 1,000 people
Bike routes
5.1 mi
Highest peak
676 ft
Osborn Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sandy Hook?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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
★ What stands out · Things to do
14 places to go in Sandy Hook
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sandy Hook
Playgrounds in Sandy Hook
Boat launches in Sandy Hook
Waterfalls in Sandy Hook
Scenic views in Sandy Hook
Peaks in Sandy Hook
Trails & water
3 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 1.4 mi
Zoar Trail6.3 mi
Stone Bridge Trail0.4 mi
White Trail0.2 mi
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Paugussett State Forest, with 20.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rocky Glen State Park Scenic Reserve
Nature preserve
55 acres1.1 mi of trail
White Trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
The Nature Conservancy Shepaug Dam (Owned)
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
68 acres0.6 mi of trail
🐕 Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 25 parks & preserves
🌲
Paugussett State Forest1,153 acres · 20.7 mi of trail · Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Directions🌲
The Nature Conservancy Shepaug Dam (Owned)68 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
🌲
Newtown Forest Association, Inc (Myertin)2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
🌲
Town Open Space56 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Riverside Road)26 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Pole Bridge Road)25 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Thunder Ridge Road)20 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Bennetts Bridge Road)18 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Old Farm Road)13 acres
🌲
Newtown Forest Association, Inc (Milliken)9 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Woodbine Lane)8 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Mountain Mannor Road)7 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Bristol Lane)5 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Jeremiah Road)4 acres
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Town Open Space (Chestnut Knoll Drive)4 acres
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Town Open Space (Antler Pine Road)4 acres
🌲
Town Open Space (Great Quarter Road)3 acres
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Town Open Space (Elana Lane)3 acres
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Town Open Space (Edgewood Drive)3 acres
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Town Open Space (Walnut Tree Hill Road)3 acres
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Town Open Space (High Rock Road)2 acres
Who protects it
2,151 conserved acres
Who manages Sandy Hook’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits58 ac
State conservation38 ac
Town or city17 ac
Not recorded2,058 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,052 acPrivate Conservation · 506 acLocal Other or Unknown · 490 acState Recreation Area · 60 acUnknown Easement · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 74 of 75 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paugussett State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,052 | Unknown |
| Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 895 | Unknown |
| Wamer Pond Water Access State Recreation Area | Not recorded | 60 | Unknown |
| Shepaug Dam Site Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 58 | Unknown |
| Cavanaugh Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Treadwell Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Milliken Private Conservation | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Rocky Glen State Park Scenic Reserve State Park | Not recorded | 8 | Unknown |
Biking & sports
5.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.0 mi
off-road bike paths
5.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Baseball
3Basketball
2Soccer
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 historic sites to visit
Plus 4 cemeteries, often the oldest places in town.
Next door
Sandy Hook and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved | Parks |
|---|---|---|
| Sandy Hook | 20.2% | 25 |
| Newtown | 16.2% | 72 |
| Monroe | 13.1% | 32 |
| Southbury | 16.6% | 24 |
| East Village | 14.9% | 9 |
| Oxford | 14.5% | 13 |
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Sandy Hook neighbors.
Weigh in
Is Paugussett State Forest the best walk in Sandy Hook?
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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Trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, PAD-US. Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20.8-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what’s typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren’t recorded.