Willoughby State Forest
Nature preserve
581 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Barton
Barton has 381 acres of parks, 135 for every 1,000 residents
7% of Barton’s land is conserved, about 1,919 acres. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Barton, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #49 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,919 acres · of 42.7 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
381 ac
135 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,247 ft
Barton Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Barton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barton is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #49 of 71 in Vermont. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Barton’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land135 acres of park per 1,000 residents (381 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home53% 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 70%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 31%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Barton’s 7% is ahead of 20% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 14% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
247 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Indian Pioneer Point Access
Crystal Lake State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,919 conserved acres
7% of Barton’s land. Who manages Barton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,868 ac
State fish & wildlife170 ac
Other state land1 ac
Not recorded442 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,120 acAgricultural Easement · 418 acState Conservation Area · 406 acUnknown Easement · 324 acLocal Resource Management Area · 76 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,469 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 86 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 407 | Open |
| Lee Emerson Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 50 | Unknown |
| Barton River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Open |
| Barton Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| Willoughby River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| Green Mountain Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 20 | Open |
| Pageant Park Local Park | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| Crystal Lake State Park State Park | Not recorded | 14 | Open |
| Willoughby State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Willoughby River Access State Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in Barton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Barton
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Barton
<different> Boat Ramp
DirectionsCrystal Lake
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Barton
Barton River Access Area
DirectionsIndian Pioneer Point AccessIn Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsPlus 1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Barton
2 waterfalls without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Barton
Barton Mountain2,247 ft elevation
DirectionsMay Hill1,969 ft elevation
DirectionsCemetery Hill1,099 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Barton
Belview Campground
DirectionsPage
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Gnome Stairs Trail0.3 mi
Wheeler Pond 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.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
1Equestrian
1Baseball
1Pickleball
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 Barton: 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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 27 | 36 | 50 | 64 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 67 | 54 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Barton →
Next door
Barton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barton | 7% | 0.3 | 135 | 53% | B+ |
| Brownington | 6% | 0.1 | 172 | 3% | C+ |
| Sheffield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sutton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Irasburg | 12% | 0.1 | 87 | under 1% | B− |
| Westmore | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Glover | 14% | 0.4 | 7 | 4% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Barton
Where can I hike in Barton?
The longest trail networks: Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barton is conserved land?
7% 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 Barton’s trails?
Willoughby State Forest and Willoughby Falls Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Barton?
19,389 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 455 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Barton have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #49 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Barton 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 →