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Bennington, VermontPhoto: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Bennington

20% of Bennington’s land is conserved: 5,513 acres

48 miles of mapped trail cross Bennington, 1.1 per square mile of land. 662 acres are parks and preserves, 43 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest (2.7 mi), Glastenbury Wilderness (2.7 mi).

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #15 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it

Conserved land
20%
5,513 acres · of 41.9 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
662 ac
43 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.2 mi
3.2 mi paths
Highest peak
2,343 ft
Mount Anthony
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Bennington?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild20% of the land is conserved; a typical Vermont town, 14%.A trail town1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 83% of U.S. towns.History along the way29 places on the National Register.
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 88% of U.S. towns, #15 of 71 in Vermont. Conserved land holds 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 land20% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land43 acres of park per 1,000 residents (662 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 80%

Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Bennington’s 20% is ahead of 74% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.

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.

1234
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 Green Mountain National Forest, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Green Mountain National Forest

Managed by United States Forest Service
1,296 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Glastenbury Wilderness

Managed by United States Forest Service
1,111 acres2.7 mi of trail
Bald Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Memorial Park

Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Green Mountain National Forest1,296 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Directions
Glastenbury Wilderness1,111 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Willow Park61 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Monument Square3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Memorial Park9 acres
Directions
Vermont Veterans Home Deer Park7 acres
Who protects it

5,513 conserved acres

20% of Bennington’s land. Who manages Bennington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits6,769 ac
U.S. Forest Service1,296 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)87 ac
Town or city63 ac
Other state land3 ac
Not recorded701 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,447 acAgricultural Easement · 2,381 acNational Forest · 1,296 acPrivate Conservation · 606 acState Conservation Area · 436 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,842 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 40 of 143 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Green Mountain National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service1,296Open
Mount Anthony Preservation Society
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits606Closed
Whipstock Hill Wildlife Management Area
State Conservation Area
Not recorded436Open
Bennington Fish Culture Station
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded116Open
Bennington Town Forest
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded67Unknown
Bennington Ski Jump Lot
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded55Unknown
Bradford-Putnam Wetlands
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city37Open
Unknown Park
Local Park
Town or city18Open
Novelty Mill Pond
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded17Open
Walloomsac Brook
State Other or Unknown
Not recorded11Open

2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

13 places to go in Bennington

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Bennington
Mount Anthony2,343 ft elevation
Directions
Whipstock Hill1,283 ft elevation
Directions
Bingham Hill745 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.3 miUnpaved · 16.6 mi
Bald Mountain Trail3.3 mi
Halloween Tree1.5 mi
Lower Beacon1.3 mi
Summit Trail1.0 mi
Hops & Vines1.0 mi
Zaphod's Run0.9 mi
Grime's Grind0.8 mi
Mountain Dew0.8 mi
Robert Frost Trail0.7 mi
Jacob's Ladder0.7 mi
15 more trails
Snail Trail
0.6 mi
Green Man
0.6 mi
Everett Cave Trail
0.5 mi
Initial Rock
0.4 mi
The Grotto
0.4 mi
Flat Tire
0.4 mi
Running Bear
0.3 mi
unmaintained
0.3 mi
Carriage Road Trail
0.3 mi
Everett Path
0.3 mi
Hay Field Trail
0.3 mi
Three Fields
0.2 mi
Mansion Trail
0.2 mi
Singletrack Connector
0.2 mi
Bennington College Road System
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Ice PondpondLake ParanreservoirParan CreekRoaring Branch Walloomsac BrookWalloomsac River
Biking & sports

3.2 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
9Baseball
5Basketball
4Soccer
2Lacrosse
2Volleyball
2Multi-sport
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

29 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 13 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Bennington Battle MonumentStructure · listed 1971
About it
Park-McCullough HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About it
First Congregational Church of BenningtonBuilding · listed 1973
About it
Bennington Falls Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About it
Silk Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About it
Henry Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About it
Bennington Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1976
About it
Downtown Bennington Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About it
North Bennington Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About it
Old Bennington Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About it
Ritchie BlockBuilding · listed 1986
About it
Bennington Railroad StationBuilding · listed 1988
About it

17 more on the History page.

When to get out

May is the best month for walking in Bennington

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.310.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.0
High (°F)323443576977818072604837
Rain (in)2.82.22.83.23.64.34.14.24.14.03.23.3

February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bennington →

Next door

Bennington and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Woodford80 miPownal48 miBennington48 miPetersburgh24 miHoosick20 miShaftsbury14 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Bennington20%1.14360%A
Pownal23%1.015926%A−
Woodford— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Shaftsbury12%0.36822%B+

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: Green Mountain National Forest, 2.7 miles; Glastenbury Wilderness, 2.7 miles; Willow Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Bennington is conserved land?

20% 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 Bennington’s trails?

OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Willow Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Bennington?

3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Bennington?

95,573 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bennington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,009 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Bennington have?

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #15 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 Bennington neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →