Lamson Farm
Managed by Town of Mont Vernon
306 acres3.2 mi of trail
Lamson Green TrailLamson Blue TrailLamson Orange TrailLamson Yellow Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Lamson Farm Parking
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Mont Vernon
19% of Mont Vernon’s land is conserved: 2,065 acres
21 miles of mapped trail cross Mont Vernon, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Lamson Farm (3.2 mi), North Wah Lum Reserve (1.5 mi), Pinchard Wildlife Management Area (1.3 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #123 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
2,065 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
1.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
991 ft
Roby Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Mont Vernon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mont Vernon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mont Vernon is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #123 of 126 in New Hampshire. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mont Vernon’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical NH town 19% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · NH 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land1.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · NH 44 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home14% 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 52%
LessMore
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 2%
New Hampshire towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Mont Vernon’s 19% is ahead of 55% of New Hampshire towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. 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 Lamson Farm, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Wah Lum Reserve
Managed by Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
128 acres1.5 mi of trail
View LoopPurgatory Brook Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Purgatory Road Parking
Pinchard Wildlife Management Area
Managed by NH Fish & Game
250 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mont Vernon Town Land
Managed by Town of Mont Vernon
116 acres1.1 mi of trail
Purgatory Brook TrailView Access TrailOld Dow Road Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Purgatory Falls Dow Road Parking
South Wah Lum Reserve
Managed by Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
123 acres0.9 mi of trail
View LoopPurgatory Brook Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hebert Town Forest
Managed by Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
152 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Purgatory Reservation
Managed by Town of Mont Vernon
35 acres0.7 mi of trail
Purgatory Brook Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Archibald Conservation Land
Managed by Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
65 acres0.6 mi of trail
Archibald TrailLamson Blue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Lamson Farm306 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · Town of Mont Vernon
DirectionsNorth Wah Lum Reserve128 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
DirectionsPinchard Wildlife Management Area250 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · NH Fish & Game
Mont Vernon Town Land116 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Town of Mont Vernon
DirectionsSouth Wah Lum Reserve123 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
Hebert Town Forest152 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
Purgatory Reservation35 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Town of Mont Vernon
Archibald Conservation Land65 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
DirectionsHerlihy Swamp49 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
DirectionsNadeau Forest69 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · New England Forestry Foundation
Havinga Woods22 acres · Mont Vernon Conservation Commission
Carleton Pond Park4 acres · Town of Mont Vernon
DirectionsWho protects it
2,065 conserved acres
19% of Mont Vernon’s land. Who manages Mont Vernon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,088 ac
Town or city466 ac
State natural resources343 ac
Not recorded820 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,159 acConservation Easement · 1,029 acUnknown Easement · 339 acLocal Conservation Area · 118 acPrivate Conservation · 68 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 715 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 50 of 73 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamson Farm Local Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 314 | Unknown |
| Town of Mont Vernon Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 208 | Unknown |
| Hebert Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 143 | Unknown |
| Herlihy 1 Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 97 | Unknown |
| Dow 2 Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 77 | Unknown |
| Nadeau Private Conservation | Not recorded | 68 | Unknown |
| Archibald Property Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 65 | Unknown |
| Beech 2 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 51 | Unknown |
| Herlihy Swamp Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Unknown |
| Purgatory Falls Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 41 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Mont Vernon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Fishing spots in Mont Vernon
Horton Pond
DirectionsWaterfalls in Mont Vernon
Middle FallsIn North Wah Lum Reserve
DirectionsPeaks in Mont Vernon
Roby Hill991 ft elevation
DirectionsMcCollom Hill909 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill883 ft elevation
DirectionsPurgatory Hill883 ft elevation
DirectionsBeech Hill856 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 3 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
12 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 14.0 miUnpaved · 20.1 mi
View Loop1.8 mi
Purgatory Brook Trail1.5 mi
Lamson Green Trail0.9 mi
Lamson Blue Trail0.6 mi
Lamson Orange Trail0.5 mi
Archibald Trail0.5 mi
Lamson Yellow Trail0.3 mi
Lamson White Trail0.3 mi
Old Dow Road Trail0.3 mi
View Access Trail0.2 mi
2 more trails
Lamson Red Trail
0.2 miUpland Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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.
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Mont Vernon: 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 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Mont Vernon →
Next door
Mont 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mont Vernon | 19% | 1.2 | 2 | 14% | B− |
| Lyndeborough | 21% | 1.5 | 131 | 13% | A− |
| Amherst | 16% | 1.6 | 46 | 50% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mont Vernon
Where can I hike in Mont Vernon?
The longest trail networks: Lamson Farm, 3.2 miles; North Wah Lum Reserve, 1.5 miles; Pinchard Wildlife Management Area, 1.3 miles; Mont Vernon Town Land, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mont Vernon is conserved land?
19% 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 Mont Vernon’s trails?
Lamson Farm and North Wah Lum Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mont Vernon?
13,943 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mont Vernon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mont Vernon have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #123 of 126 in New Hampshire. 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 Mont 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 →