Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest
Managed by Bradford Conservation Commission
511 acres7.4 mi of trail
Writghts Mountain TrailErnie's TrailNancy's TraceChase Hollow Trial+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bradford
Bradford has 517 acres of parks, 183 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Bradford’s land is conserved, about 2,841 acres. The biggest trail networks: Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest (7.4 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #34 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,841 acres · of 29.7 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
517 ac
183 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,821 ft
Wrights Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Bradford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bradford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bradford is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #34 of 71 in Vermont. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bradford’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land183 acres of park per 1,000 residents (517 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home45% 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 79%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 53%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Bradford’s 15% is ahead of 53% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% 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
The longest trail network is Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,841 conserved acres
15% of Bradford’s land. Who manages Bradford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,055 ac
Joint1,736 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)856 ac
State conservation368 ac
State fish & wildlife112 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government56 ac
Not recorded74 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,836 acAgricultural Easement · 1,306 acUnknown Easement · 1,041 acLocal Resource Management Area · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,767 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 42 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford Academy Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 74 | Unknown |
Things to do
10 places to go in Bradford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bradford
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Bradford
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Bradford
Waits River Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Bradford
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Bradford
Wrights Mountain1,821 ft elevation · In Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest
DirectionsWrights Mountain1,821 ft elevation · In Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest
DirectionsIras Pinnacle1,545 ft elevation
DirectionsNarrow Hill1,447 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Bradford
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Bradford
Bugbee Landing Campsite
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miHorses · 0.8 miUnpaved · 1.0 mi
Writghts Mountain Trail1.5 mi
Ernie's Trail0.9 mi
Rube's Trail0.8 mi
Nancy's Trace0.6 mi
Chase Hollow Trial0.5 mi
Sylvia's Trail0.3 mi
J. Arthur's Trail0.3 mi
Chase Hollow Trial - In0.2 mi
Joe's Trail0.2 mi
Chase Hollow Trail - Out0.2 mi
1 more trails
Plateau Acres
0.1 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.
Courts & fields
2Multi-sport
2Tennis
1Baseball
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 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bradford: 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) | 28 | 32 | 41 | 54 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bradford →
Next door
Bradford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 15% | 0.4 | 183 | 45% | A− |
| Newbury | 12% | 0.2 | 284 | 21% | B |
| Corinth | 16% | 0.3 | 70 | 4% | B |
| Fairlee | 23% | 1.8 | 1,809 | 63% | A+ |
| West Fairlee | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bradford
Where can I hike in Bradford?
The longest trail networks: Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest, 7.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bradford is conserved land?
15% 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 Bradford’s trails?
Wright’s Mountain and Devil’s Den Town Forest and Elizabeth's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bradford?
32,192 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bradford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 527 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bradford have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Bradford 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 →