Fogg Island Preserve
Managed by 7 Lakes Alliance
728 acres2.5 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail 25
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
John Williams House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon has 18 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Fogg Island Preserve (2.5 mi), Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area (1.4 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Mount Vernon’s land is conserved, about 1,226 acres.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,226 acres · of 37.9 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
1.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
781 ft
Bowen Hill
Lakes & rivers
13
5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Vernon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mount Vernon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Vernon is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Vernon’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical ME town 6% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · ME 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · ME 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · ME 30% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 29%
LessMore
Water is 13% of Mount Vernon’s area (6 of 43 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Fogg Island Preserve, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area
Managed by Kennebec Land Trust
164 acres1.4 mi of trail
Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservationi Area Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
George Bucknam Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
106 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Taylor Pond Access
Nature preserve
92 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Fogg Island Preserve728 acres · 2.5 mi of trail · 7 Lakes Alliance
Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area164 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Kennebec Land Trust
DirectionsGeorge Bucknam Wildlife Management Area106 acres · Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
Taylor Pond Access92 acres
Long Pond Access49 acres
Ingham Stream Preserve29 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Torsey Shore Conservation Area20 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Echo Lake Boat Access2 acres
DirectionsParker Pond Headland Preserve1 acres · Kennebec Land Trust
Taylor Pond Boat Access1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,226 conserved acres
5% of Mount Vernon’s land. Water is left out: Mount Vernon has 37.9 square miles of land and 5.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Mount Vernon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,230 ac
State parks357 ac
State fish & wildlife207 ac
Not recorded203 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 635 acPrivate Conservation · 449 acLocal Other or Unknown · 223 acState Other or Unknown · 200 acState Park · 135 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 24 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 449 | Closed |
| Fogg Island Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 449 | Closed |
| Kennebec Highlands Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 403 | Closed |
| Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 158 | Unknown |
| George Bucknam (Belgrade Stream) Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 108 | Closed |
| Taylor Pond Boat Access State Park | State parks | 92 | Closed |
| Long Pond State Park | State parks | 40 | Closed |
| Ingham Stream Preserve Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Closed |
| Parker Pond Islands Local Other or Unknown | State parks | 19 | Closed |
| Belgrade Stream Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Mount Vernon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Mount Vernon
Echo Lake Boat RampIn Echo Lake Boat Access
DirectionsFlying Pond Boat Ramp
DirectionsLong Pond Boat Ramp
DirectionsMinnehonk boat ramp
DirectionsTaylor Pond Boat Ramp
DirectionsPeaks in Mount Vernon
Bowen Hill781 ft elevation
DirectionsHornbeam Mountain669 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 13 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miUnpaved · 2.2 mi
Snowmobile Trail 255.9 mi
Snowmobile Trail 271.5 mi
Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservationi Area Trail1.4 mi
A-Trail1.2 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Cottle Hill0.3 mi
McGaffey Mountain Crown0.3 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 140.2 mi
Snowmobile Belgrade Trail 90.1 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
4Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mount Vernon: May and July 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Mount Vernon →
Next door
Mount Vernon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | 5% | 0.5 | 1 | 3% | C |
| Vienna | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fayette | 6% | 0.7 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Chesterville | 9% | 0.8 | under 1 | 2% | C+ |
| Belgrade | 4% | 1.2 | 6 | 12% | C+ |
| Readfield | 9% | 0.6 | 14 | 10% | B− |
| Rome | 21% | 0.9 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mount Vernon
Where can I hike in Mount Vernon?
The longest trail networks: Fogg Island Preserve, 2.5 miles; Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Vernon is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 6% for a Maine town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Mount Vernon’s trails?
Fogg Island Preserve and Ezra Smith Wildlife Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mount Vernon?
2,610 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Vernon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mount Vernon have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Mount Vernon 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 →