Bomoseen State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
824 acres2.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hydeville School · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Castleton
Castleton has 2,052 acres of parks, 461 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Bomoseen State Park (2.5 mi). 9% of Castleton’s land is conserved, about 2,327 acres. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #54 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,327 acres · of 38.9 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,052 ac
461 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.0 mi
5.0 mi paths
Highest peak
1,250 ft
Blueberry Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Castleton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Castleton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Castleton is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #54 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Castleton’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land461 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,052 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home28% 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 67%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 24%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Castleton’s 9% is ahead of 30% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
Water is 8% of Castleton’s area (3 of 42 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
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 Bomoseen State Park, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Birdseye Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
120 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
2,327 conserved acres
9% of Castleton’s land. Water is left out: Castleton has 38.9 square miles of land and 3.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Castleton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife195 ac
Town or city6 ac
Not recorded2,126 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,189 acState Park · 728 acConservation Easement · 195 acLocal Resource Management Area · 119 acState Other or Unknown · 89 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 195 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blueberry Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 997 | Open |
| Bomoseen State Park State Park | Not recorded | 728 | Open |
| Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 120 | Open |
| Castleton Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 119 | Unknown |
| Loves Marsh Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 72 | Open |
| Green Dump Quarry State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 69 | Open |
| Pelletier Pond State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 19 | Open |
| Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| West Rutland State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Thomas Evanoika Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Castleton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Castleton
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Castleton
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Castleton
Lake Bomoseen boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Castleton
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Castleton
Blueberry Hill1,250 ft elevation
DirectionsBarker Hill1,198 ft elevation
DirectionsPond Hill1,152 ft elevation
DirectionsEaton Hill1,007 ft elevation
DirectionsBull Hill935 ft elevation
DirectionsHooker Hill909 ft elevation
DirectionsCedar Mountain659 ft elevation
DirectionsGraham Hill597 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Parker Hill528 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
2Baseball
1Multi-sport
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Castleton: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Castleton →
Next door
Castleton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleton | 9% | 0.3 | 461 | 28% | B+ |
| Poultney | 8% | 0.5 | 187 | 44% | A− |
| Ira | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fair Haven | 26% | 0.4 | 637 | 61% | A |
| Hubbardton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Benson | — 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 Castleton
Where can I hike in Castleton?
The longest trail networks: Bomoseen State Park, 2.5 miles; Birdseye Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Castleton is conserved land?
9% 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 Castleton’s trails?
Bomoseen State Park and Birdseye Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Castleton?
5.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Castleton?
33,322 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Castleton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,142 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Castleton have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Castleton 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 →