Brighton State Park
Managed by Vermont State Parks
237 acres1.7 mi of trail
Shoreline TrailBoreal Forest TrailRed PineWooded Walk+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Brighton
Brighton has 5,708 acres of parks, 4,891 for every 1,000 residents
39% of Brighton’s land is conserved, about 13,285 acres. 46 miles of mapped trail cross Brighton, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Brighton State Park (1.7 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
13,285 acres · of 52.9 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,708 ac
4,891 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,789 ft
Bluff Mountain
Lakes & rivers
8
7 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Brighton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brighton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brighton is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. 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 Brighton’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land4,891 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,708 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home34% 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 89%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Brighton’s 39% is ahead of 97% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% 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.
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 Brighton State Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brighton Town Forest
Nature preserve
524 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
33 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
13,285 conserved acres
39% of Brighton’s land. Who manages Brighton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits12,002 ac
Other state land4,101 ac
State parks1,245 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service91 ac
Not recorded6,019 ac
Conservation Easement · 7,699 acUnknown Easement · 5,367 acPrivate Conservation · 4,442 acForest Stewardship Easement · 4,101 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1,398 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7,228 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 33 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| McConnell Pond Conservation Fund Private Conservation | Not recorded | 4,124 | Open |
| Brighton Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,398 | Unknown |
| Trust for Public Land Private Conservation | Not recorded | 318 | Restricted |
| Brighton State Park State Park | Not recorded | 155 | Open |
| Silvio O. Conte National Fish And Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 91 | Restricted |
| Clyde River Access (Brighton) State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| Unk4 Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Spectacle Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Island Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
19 places to go in Brighton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Brighton
Campers' BeachIn Brighton State Park
DirectionsPlus 6 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Brighton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Brighton
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in Brighton
Bluff Mountain2,789 ft elevation
DirectionsBluff Mountain (South Summit)2,379 ft elevation
DirectionsMeehan Hill1,923 ft elevation
DirectionsDollif Mountain1,877 ft elevation
DirectionsHaystack Hill1,821 ft elevation
DirectionsRosebrook Hill1,683 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Brighton
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Brighton
Brighton State Park CampgroundIn Brighton State Park · Vermont State Parks
DirectionsLakeside Camping
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.6 miUnpaved · 26.2 mi
Bluff Ridge Trail3.6 mi
Bluff Mountain Community Trail1.5 mi
Henshaw Road Spur1.0 mi
Town Highway 80.8 mi
Lookout Trail0.8 mi
Shoreline Trail0.6 mi
Main Trail0.5 mi
Boreal Forest Trail0.4 mi
Basin Link0.3 mi
Red Pine0.2 mi
2 more trails
Loggers Loop
0.1 miWooded Walk
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.
VTXLBike route
0.8 miCourts & fields
2Multi-sport
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place 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.
Island Pond Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Brighton: 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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 27 | 37 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 54 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Brighton →
Next door
Brighton and its neighbors
Brighton has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | 39% | 0.9 | 4,891 | 34% | A |
| Charleston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Newark | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Morgan | — 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 Brighton
Where can I hike in Brighton?
The longest trail networks: Brighton State Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brighton is conserved land?
39% 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 Brighton’s trails?
Brighton State Park and Brighton Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brighton?
47,779 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brighton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,723 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brighton have?
Ahead of 89% 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 Brighton 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 →