Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
2,463 acres4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Jonathan Leo Connor · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Addison
45% of Addison’s land is conserved: 11,910 acres
936 acres are parks and preserves, 796 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (4 mi), D.A.R. State Park (0.8 mi). 20 miles of mapped trail cross Addison, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
45%
11,910 acres · of 41.6 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
936 ac
796 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,293 ft
Snake Mountain
Lakes & rivers
7
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Addison?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Addison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Addison is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Addison’s overall grade.
Conserved land45% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land796 acres of park per 1,000 residents (936 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home50% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Addison’s 45% is ahead of 99% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% of them.
Water is 15% of Addison’s area (7 of 49 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 38%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Dead Creek WMA, with 4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
D.A.R. State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
110 acres0.8 mi of trail
Nature TrailBeach Access
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Chimney Point State Historic Site
Managed by Vermont Division for Historic Preservation
63 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
11,910 conserved acres
45% of Addison’s land. Water is left out: Addison has 41.6 square miles of land and 7.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Addison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits15,175 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)3,492 ac
State fish & wildlife2,760 ac
State conservation1,230 ac
State natural resources269 ac
State parks117 ac
Other state land88 ac
Agricultural Easement · 10,858 acConservation Easement · 9,685 acState Conservation Area · 5,645 acState Park · 150 acPrivate Conservation · 89 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 8,409 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 102 of 339 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 4,940 | Open |
| Snake Mountain Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 341 | Open |
| Whitney/Hospital Creek Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 310 | Open |
| D.A.R. State Park State Park | Not recorded | 91 | Open |
| Wilmarth Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 80 | Closed |
| Chimney Point State Park State Park | State parks | 58 | Open |
| McCuen Slang Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 42 | Open |
| Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (flowage rights) State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 13 | Closed |
| Willmarth Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
| Chimney Point State Historic Site State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
11 places to go in Addison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Addison
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Addison
Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Addison
McCuen Slang Access Area
DirectionsScenic views in Addison
Red Rock Pond
Directionshotel overlook
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Addison
Snake Mountain1,293 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Addison
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Addison
D.A.R State ParkFee · In D.A.R. State Park · Vermont State Parks
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.3 miHorses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 8.8 mi
West Trail1.1 mi
Pond Summit Trail0.9 mi
Summit Trail0.9 mi
Pond Single Track0.5 mi
Ridge Trail0.4 mi
East Trail0.3 mi
Nature Trail0.2 mi
Beach Access0.1 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.
Courts & fields
2Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Addison: May and 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Addison →
Next door
Addison and its neighbors
Addison has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Moriah32 miAddison20 miCrown Point20 miWeybridge17 miNew Haven11 miBridport8.7 miPanton1.7 miWaltham1.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addison | 45% | 0.5 | 796 | 50% | A |
| Waltham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bridport | 41% | 0.2 | 303 | 10% | B+ |
| Weybridge | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Panton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| New Haven | 15% | 0.3 | 1 | 5% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Addison
Where can I hike in Addison?
The longest trail networks: Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, 4 miles; D.A.R. State Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Addison is conserved land?
45% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Vermont town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Addison’s trails?
Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area and D.A.R. State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Addison?
31,697 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Addison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,153 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Addison have?
Ahead of 87% 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 Addison 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 →