With its combination of varied contours and runnable forest, Hamlin Park was one of our favorite training maps for years. The contours remain, but the park has increasingly focused on planting new forest undergrowth–perhaps necessary in a popular city park that gets constant foot traffic. So today most contour recognition happens from the trails.

Note: Samples of the map are provided here for educational purposes only; the map shown here is not kept up-to-date. The course shown is a Beginner/Intermediate course, and actual controls do not exist in the terrain.

The purpose of providing these navigational and physical ratings below is to provide greater context for how challenging an orienteering course at this venue might be. For example, an advanced-level course at a local city park will be easier to complete than an advanced-level course in the mountains.

Navigational Challenge Rating: 5/10

The combination of a dense (and growing) trail network and numerous areas of sparse forest that may or may not have trails makes trail-counting somewhat inaccurate. You will definitely learn either compass skills or contour recognition!

Physical Challenge Rating: 3/10

There are lots of hills, but staying on trails, you won’t be climbing most hills.