1
East Quabbin/Dana
Managed by DCR
8,861 acres32.4 mi of trail
Rabbit Run Rail BedSoapstone Mtn TrailIndian Kitchen TrailMonson TurnpikeGorge Trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Petersham
Petersham, MA parks, trails & bike paths
About 62% of Petersham is conserved land, roughly 26,678 acres. There are about 74 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in East Quabbin/Dana (32.4 mi), Brooks Woodland Preserve (12.2 mi), and Harvard Forest (11.6 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Petersham, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Petersham outdoors
Conserved land
62%
26,678 of 43,410 acres
Trails
74 mi
1.1 mi per sq mi · 68 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
18
22,513 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
0.0 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.0 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Brooks Woodland Preserve
Nature preserve
733 acres12.2 mi of trail
Surprise Meadow TrailTumbledown SouthDudley TrailJohnson Hill TrailConnor's Pond Trail
Dog rules not recorded
3
Harvard Forest
Nature preserve
3,148 acres11.6 mi of trail
Reed Loop TrailBoardwalkTumbledown WestTumbledown South
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Swift River Reservation
Managed by Trustees of Reservations
439 acres5.7 mi of trail
Yellow LoopBlue Loop TrailReed Loop TrailDropdown Trailside trail to lookout
Dog rules not recorded
5
Federated Women's Club State Forest
Nature preserve
985 acres2.9 mi of trail
Gorge TrailSoapstone Mtn Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Quabbin Reservoir Reservation
Managed by DCR - Division Of Water Supply Protection
20,863 acres1.3 mi of trail
Gorge TrailSoapstone Mtn Trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Petersham State Forest
Nature preserve
477 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
8
Phillipston Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
826 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 18 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 18 parks & preserves
East Quabbin/Dana8,861 acres · 32.4 mi of trail · DCR
Brooks Woodland Preserve733 acres · 12.2 mi of trail
Harvard Forest3,148 acres · 11.6 mi of trail
Swift River Reservation439 acres · 5.7 mi of trail · Trustees of Reservations
Federated Women's Club State Forest985 acres · 2.9 mi of trail
Quabbin Reservoir Reservation20,863 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · DCR - Division Of Water Supply Protection
Petersham State Forest477 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Phillipston Wildlife Management Area826 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Rutland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary790 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Petersham Town Forest114 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Town of Petersham Town Forest Committee
Who protects the land
26,678 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 6,780 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 13 of 264 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths0.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball2
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Nearby
Petersham and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersham | 61.5% | 74.0 mi | 18 |
| New Salem | 62.3% | 17.3 mi | 7 |
| Hardwick | 38.2% | 15.2 mi | 15 |
| Ware | 25.9% | 22.9 mi | 9 |
| Phillipston | 41% | 15.9 mi | 12 |
| Athol | 28.4% | 37.9 mi | 16 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Petersham's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (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 40.3-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.