Molly's Falls Pond State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
1,025 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Marshfield DamWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cabot
Cabot has 1,058 acres of parks, 670 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Cabot’s land is conserved, about 3,131 acres. 23% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.1 miles of mapped trail cross Cabot, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,131 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
6.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,058 ac
670 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
Highest peak
2,182 ft
Danville Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cabot?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cabot have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cabot is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cabot’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land670 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,058 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home23% 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 65%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Cabot’s 13% is ahead of 44% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 1% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,131 conserved acres
13% of Cabot’s land. Who manages Cabot’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,875 ac
State parks610 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)193 ac
State natural resources46 ac
State conservation2 ac
Not recorded1,077 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,069 acAgricultural Easement · 2,046 acState Park · 1,006 acState Conservation Area · 610 acLocal Resource Management Area · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,053 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 41 of 90 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molly’s Falls Pond State Park State Park | Not recorded | 1,006 | Open |
| Groton Forest Legacy Initiative Molly's Falls Pond State Conservation Area | State parks | 610 | Open |
| Lower Cabot Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 43 | Unknown |
| Coits Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 27 | Open |
| Passumpsic Valley Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
10 places to go in Cabot
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cabot
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cabot
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Cabot
West Hill Pond Access Area
DirectionsPeaks in Cabot
Danville Hill2,182 ft elevation
DirectionsBurbank Hill1,972 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 3 peaks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Burtts Orcharc trail1.2 mi
Old Town Center trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Tennis
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.
Wiswell HouseBuilding · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Cabot: 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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 27 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 66 | 53 | 40 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Cabot →
Next door
Cabot 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabot | 13% | 0.2 | 670 | 23% | B+ |
| Danville | 4% | 0.3 | 147 | 24% | B− |
| Marshfield | 30% | 0.4 | 32 | 15% | B+ |
| Walden | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Peacham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Woodbury | — 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 Cabot
How much of Cabot is conserved land?
13% 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 Cabot’s trails?
Molly's Falls Pond State Park and Cabot Common don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cabot?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cabot?
49,893 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cabot or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,086 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cabot have?
Ahead of 65% 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 Cabot 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 →