Mount Mansfield State Forest
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
5,339 acres33 mi of trail
Long TrailBolton - Trapp TrailOld VAST TrailMaple Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Robot psychiatrist · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bolton
More than half of Bolton’s land is conserved: 50%
50% of Bolton’s land is conserved, about 13,371 acres. 5,839 acres are parks and preserves, 5,020 per 1,000 residents. 92 miles of mapped trail cross Bolton, 2.2 per square mile of land.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
50%
13,371 acres · of 41.8 sq mi of land
Trails
92 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,839 ac
5,020 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,684 ft
Bolton Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Bolton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bolton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bolton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bolton’s overall grade.
Conserved land50% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (92 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4APark land5,020 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,839 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home82% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Bolton’s 50% is ahead of 100% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 87% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Mount Mansfield State Forest, with 33 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Camel's Hump State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
4,273 acres7.8 mi of trail
Honey Hollow TrailLong TrailLong Trail Temporary Realignment
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Preston Pond Conservation Area
Managed by Town of Bolton
398 acres6.1 mi of trail
Preston Pond LoopLibby's Look LoopOld Long TrailPreston Pond Loop Cutoff+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Robbins Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife
546 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Mount Mansfield State Forest5,339 acres · 33 mi of trail · Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
DirectionsCamel's Hump State Park4,273 acres · 7.8 mi of trail · Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
DirectionsPreston Pond Conservation Area398 acres · 6.1 mi of trail · Town of Bolton
DirectionsRobbins Mountain Wildlife Management Area546 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife
Wheeler Field4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Who protects it
13,371 conserved acres
50% of Bolton’s land. Who manages Bolton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,251 ac
Other state land2,904 ac
State parks2,547 ac
State fish & wildlife10 ac
Not recorded7,880 ac
Conservation Easement · 5,804 acState Park · 3,917 acForest Stewardship Easement · 3,691 acState Resource Management Area · 3,220 acPrivate Forest Stewardship · 1,155 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,337 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 82 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camels Hump State Park State Park | Not recorded | 3,917 | Open |
| Mt. Mansfield State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 3,220 | Open |
| Northern Green Mountains Linkage- Bolton Nordic Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,155 | Open |
| Robbins Mountain Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 534 | Open |
| Green Mountain Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 160 | Open |
| Notch Road Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
| Sara Holbrook Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Winooski River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Bolton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Bolton
Olga's FallsIn Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsScenic views in Bolton
Bolton Firetower
DirectionsCrest: Bolton-Nebraska notch trailIn Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsDuxbury Window ViewpointIn Camel's Hump State Park
DirectionsHarrington's ViewIn Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsLibby's LookIn Preston Pond Conservation Area
DirectionsStowe ViewIn Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsPeaks in Bolton
Bolton Mountain3,684 ft elevation · In Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsRicker Mountain3,396 ft elevation
DirectionsBone Mountain2,917 ft elevation
DirectionsRobbins Mountain2,047 ft elevation
DirectionsStimson Mountain1,995 ft elevation · In Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsOxbow MountainIn Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 12.7 miUnpaved · 44.9 mi
Long Trail12.7 mi
Old Long Trail4.6 mi
Old VAST Trail3.9 mi
Honey Hollow Trail3.5 mi
Preston Pond Loop3.0 mi
Bolton - Trapp Trail2.9 mi
Catamount Trail1.9 mi
Jake1.5 mi
Maple Loop1.4 mi
Telemark1.3 mi
15 more trails
Woodward Ski Trail
1.2 miHeavenly Highway
1.1 miBirch Loop
1.0 miLibby's Look Loop
1.0 miDouble Down
0.9 miBryant Trail
0.9 miTimberline Run #40
0.9 miGoat Path
0.9 miBroken Bridge
0.8 miHot Dogger
0.8 miBroadway
0.8 miCamp Ride / Picnic Loop
0.8 miCobrass Run
0.8 miIteration Upper Climb
0.7 miCliff Hanger
0.7 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.
MTB Bolton ValleyBike route
9.9 miCourts & fields
7Tennis
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bolton: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 55 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bolton →
Next door
Bolton and its neighbors
Bolton has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton | 50% | 2.2 | 5,020 | 82% | A+ |
| Duxbury | 42% | 0.7 | 7,174 | 38% | A |
| Richmond | 17% | 2.3 | 115 | 32% | A |
| Jericho | 11% | 1.1 | 67 | 23% | A− |
| Waterbury | 11% | 1.4 | 44 | 38% | A− |
| Huntington | 30% | 1.2 | 3,219 | 35% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bolton
Where can I hike in Bolton?
The longest trail networks: Mount Mansfield State Forest, 33 miles; Camel's Hump State Park, 7.8 miles; Preston Pond Conservation Area, 6.1 miles; Robbins Mountain Wildlife Management Area, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bolton is conserved land?
50% 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 Bolton’s trails?
Mount Mansfield State Forest and Camel's Hump State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bolton?
80,034 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bolton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 10,999 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bolton have?
Among the top 1% 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 Bolton 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 →