Retreat Farm
Nature preserve
329 acres13.2 mi of trail
Ice PondMorningsideMain TrailUpper Woodlands+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Brattleboro
Brattleboro has 43 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
16% of Brattleboro’s land is conserved, about 3,307 acres. 792 acres are parks and preserves, 65 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Retreat Farm (13.2 mi), Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center (1.2 mi), Living Memorial Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #3 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,307 acres · of 32.1 sq mi of land
Trails
43 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
792 ac
65 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,506 ft
Ginseng Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Brattleboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brattleboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brattleboro is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #3 of 71 in Vermont. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brattleboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (43 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4APark land65 acres of park per 1,000 residents (792 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home84% 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 94%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 97%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Brattleboro’s 16% is ahead of 59% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 74% 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 Retreat Farm, with 13.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center
Nature preserve
95 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Riverstone Preserve
Nature preserve
25 acres0.6 mi of trail
West River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Retreat Farm329 acres · 13.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBonnyvale Environmental Education Center95 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLiving Memorial Park76 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverstone Preserve25 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Brattleboro Common3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWinston Prouty Campus146 acres · Winston Prouty
Whetstone Woods38 acres
DirectionsCrowell Playground5 acres
DirectionsWhetsone Park5 acres
Fort Dummer State Park1 acres · Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Lynch Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,307 conserved acres
16% of Brattleboro’s land. Who manages Brattleboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,200 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)584 ac
Town or city114 ac
Other state land70 ac
Private owners3 ac
Not recorded555 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,160 acConservation Easement · 2,764 acLocal Resource Management Area · 454 acPrivate Conservation · 52 acLocal Park · 51 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,727 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 70 of 145 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brattleboro Watershed Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 394 | Unknown |
| Brattleboro Living Memorial Park Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 72 | Unknown |
| Vermont Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 52 | Closed |
| Brattleboro - Boyd Woodlot Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 16 | Unknown |
| Vernon Street Wetland Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| The Common Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Whetsone Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Old Ferry Road Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Brattleboro Little League Field Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Richardson Memorial Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Brattleboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Brattleboro
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Brattleboro
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Brattleboro
Old Ferry Road Boat Launch
DirectionsWest River Park Kayak Lauch
DirectionsPeaks in Brattleboro
Ginseng Hill1,506 ft elevation
DirectionsRound Mountain1,447 ft elevation
DirectionsBear Hill1,319 ft elevation
DirectionsRichardson Mountain1,198 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Brattleboro
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Brattleboro
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
10 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.3 miHorses · 1.5 miUnpaved · 10.9 mi
West River Trail2.8 mi
Ice Pond0.9 mi
Morningside0.8 mi
Main Trail0.8 mi
Upper Woodlands0.6 mi
Lower Woodlands0.5 mi
Just For Fun0.3 mi
Roundabout0.3 mi
Sylvan Park0.2 mi
The Connector0.1 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.
West River TrailBike route
2.8 miCourts & fields
19Tennis
8Baseball
2Basketball
2Pickleball
1Soccer
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →17 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Creamery Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itUnion StationBuilding · listed 1974
About itCanal Street SchoolhouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itWilliam Harris HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itBrooks HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itEstey Organ Company FactoryBuilding · listed 1980
About itDeacon John Holbrook HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itBrattleboro Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itBrattleboro RetreatBuilding · listed 1984
About itCanal Street-Clark Street Neighborhood Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itLewis Grout HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About itSamuel Gilbert Smith FarmsteadDistrict · listed 2000
About it5 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Brattleboro: May to 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Brattleboro →
Next door
Brattleboro and its neighbors
Brattleboro has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brattleboro | 16% | 1.3 | 65 | 84% | A |
| Dummerston | 18% | 0.4 | 509 | 30% | A− |
| Guilford | 7% | 0.4 | 193 | 24% | B+ |
| Vernon | 23% | 1.7 | 447 | 56% | A |
| Marlboro | 15% | 0.3 | 448 | 3% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brattleboro
Where can I hike in Brattleboro?
The longest trail networks: Retreat Farm, 13.2 miles; Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, 1.2 miles; Living Memorial Park, 0.9 miles; Riverstone Preserve, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brattleboro is conserved land?
16% 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 Brattleboro’s trails?
Retreat Farm and Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brattleboro?
33,211 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brattleboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 796 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brattleboro have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Brattleboro 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 →