Old Christ Church · Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Bethel has 503 acres of parks, 290 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Bethel’s land is conserved, about 1,851 acres. 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Bethel, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Bethel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethel is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Bethel’s 6% is ahead of 15% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 0% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Peavine Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
1,851 conserved acres
6% of Bethel’s land. Who manages Bethel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,229 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 23 of 84 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 470 | Unknown |
| White River National Fish Hatchery Federal Other or Unknown | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 113 | Restricted |
| White River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Open |
| Bethel School Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Rood State Park State Park | Not recorded | 16 | Open |
| Ansel Pond State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| Randolph Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
12 places to go in Bethel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 more peaks
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Bethel: May, August 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 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bethel →
Bethel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel | 6% | 0.1 | 290 | 43% | B |
| Royalton | 5% | 0.2 | 88 | 22% | B− |
| Rochester | 42% | 0.3 | 501 | 37% | A− |
| Randolph | 9% | 0.2 | 31 | 36% | B |
| Tunbridge | 5% | 0.2 | 132 | 10% | B− |
| Braintree | 13% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethel
Where can I hike in Bethel?
The longest trail networks: Peavine Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethel is conserved land?
6% 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 Bethel’s trails?
Peavine Park and River Street Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bethel?
71,470 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 565 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
Ahead of 59% 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 Bethel neighbors.
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 →