Bruce Edes Memorial Forest
Managed by Town of Bennington
29 acres0.2 mi of trail
Hillsborough Recreational Rail Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bennington Village Historic District · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bennington
Bennington has 14 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
115 acres are parks and preserves, 72 per 1,000 residents. 11% of Bennington’s land is conserved, about 775 acres. 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
775 acres · of 11.4 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
115 ac
72 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Bennington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bennington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bennington is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bennington’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land72 acres of park per 1,000 residents (115 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home30% of residents within a half mile of a park · NH 40% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Bennington’s 11% is ahead of 18% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Bruce Edes Memorial Forest, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sawyer Memorial Park
Managed by Town of Bennington
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bennington Town Beach
Managed by Town of Bennington
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
775 conserved acres
11% of Bennington’s land. Who manages Bennington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government412 ac
County104 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits44 ac
State natural resources26 ac
Town or city15 ac
Not recorded607 ac
Unknown · 413 acForest Stewardship Easement · 412 acLocal Other or Unknown · 255 acWatershed Protection Area · 44 acConservation Easement · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 22 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crotched Mountain Unknown | Not recorded | 413 | Unknown |
| Samuels Memorial Forest Local Other or Unknown | County | 104 | Open |
| Transfer Station Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 96 | Unknown |
| Antrim Sewer and Water Department Watershed Protection Area | Not recorded | 36 | Unknown |
| Hillsboro Branch - B&M Railbed State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 26 | Unknown |
| Town of Bennington Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Old Stagecoach Rd Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Old Greenfield Rd Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| Town of Peterborough Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
| Edes A Private Conservation | Town or city | 9 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Bennington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bennington
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Bennington
Bell Ledges
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bennington
Newhall Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.7 miUnpaved · 6.9 mi
Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad2.7 mi
Hillsborough Recreational Rail Trail1.0 mi
Bennington Trail0.9 mi
Shannon's Trail0.9 mi
Ski Area Northern View Trail0.3 mi
Lower Link Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
Hillsborough Recreational Rail TrailBike route
3.8 miCourts & fields
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bennington Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bennington: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bennington →
Next door
Bennington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennington | 11% | 1.2 | 72 | 30% | A− |
| Antrim | 22% | 1.0 | 2 | 24% | B− |
| Francestown | 33% | 2.0 | 226 | 27% | A |
| Hancock | 45% | 0.9 | 29 | 21% | A− |
| Deering | 34% | 1.2 | 223 | 14% | A− |
| Greenfield | 30% | 1.5 | 334 | 30% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bennington
Where can I hike in Bennington?
The longest trail networks: Bruce Edes Memorial Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bennington is conserved land?
11% of its land, against a typical 19% for a New Hampshire town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Bennington’s trails?
Bruce Edes Memorial Forest and Sawyer Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bennington?
6,597 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bennington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 115 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bennington have?
Ahead of 79% 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 Bennington 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 →