Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
439 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Derby
Derby has 937 acres of parks, 206 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area (1.3 mi). 25 miles of mapped trail cross Derby, 0.5 per square mile of land. 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #57 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
1,306 acres · of 49.0 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
937 ac
206 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.2 mi
3.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,683 ft
Nelson Hill
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Derby?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Derby have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Derby is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #57 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 Derby’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land206 acres of park per 1,000 residents (937 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home30% 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 of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 20%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Derby’s 4% is ahead of 6% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 41% of them.
Water is 15% of Derby’s area (8 of 57 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 Eagle Point WMA, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Derby Town Forest
Nature preserve
397 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Derby Center Village Forest
Nature preserve
80 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
South Bay Wildlife Management Area
Managed by VT DEC
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area439 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
DirectionsPortus Baxter Park14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDerby Town Forest397 acres
Derby Center Village Forest80 acres
South Bay Wildlife Management Area31 acres · VT DEC
Who protects it
1,306 conserved acres
4% of Derby’s land. Water is left out: Derby has 49.0 square miles of land and 8.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Derby’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife962 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service911 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits378 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)180 ac
Not recorded537 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 911 acConservation Easement · 762 acUnknown Easement · 576 acLocal Resource Management Area · 478 acAgricultural Easement · 182 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 313 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 41 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 911 | Restricted |
| Derby Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 398 | Unknown |
| Derby Center Village Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 80 | Unknown |
| Clyde River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 28 | Open |
| Johns River Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Open |
| Johns River Stripping Station State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| St. Laurent Wetlands State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Derby Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Little Salem Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| David H Wood Memorial Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Derby
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Derby
Balm of Gilead Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Derby
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Derby
Big Salem Lake
DirectionsLittle Salem Lake
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Derby
Nelson Hill1,683 ft elevation
DirectionsSugar Hill1,532 ft elevation
DirectionsSalem Hill1,457 ft elevation
DirectionsElm Hill1,398 ft elevation
DirectionsBates Hill1,342 ft elevation
DirectionsHopkinson Hill1,335 ft elevation
DirectionsDarling Hill1,312 ft elevation
DirectionsShattuck Hill1,257 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Breezy Hill1,109 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Derby
Lake Memphremagog Buffers
DirectionsCampgrounds in Derby
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
21 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 12.4 mi
ski2.9 mi
Brown's Sap Run1.9 mi
Pines1.3 mi
Swamp1.0 mi
Ridgehill Connector0.7 mi
Raise to Little Howe0.6 mi
Buzell0.5 mi
Up and Over0.5 mi
Larry's Loop0.4 mi
Launchpad0.4 mi
11 more trails
Gateway to Gate's
0.4 miParking to Larry's Loop
0.3 miBack Up
0.3 miLindsay Connector
0.3 miBrand-X
0.2 miLoopette de Swamp
0.2 miSwamp Extension
0.2 miPines Extension
0.1 miAccess Trail
0.1 miPump Track
0.1 miBreakneck Hill
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
MTB MemphremagogBike route
10.8 miCourts & fields
5Tennis
2Basketball
2Pickleball
2Baseball
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Derby: 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 27 | 37 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 55 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Derby →
Next door
Derby and its neighbors
Derby has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby | 4% | 0.5 | 206 | 30% | B+ |
| Newport | 8% | 0.8 | 72 | 88% | A |
| Charleston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Holland | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Newport | 20% | 0.2 | 292 | 23% | B+ |
| Brownington | 6% | 0.1 | 172 | 3% | C+ |
| Coventry | 19% | 0.2 | 2,023 | 58% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Derby
Where can I hike in Derby?
The longest trail networks: Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Derby is conserved land?
4% 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 Derby’s trails?
Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area and Derby Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Derby?
3.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.2 of off-road paths. Named routes: MTB Memphremagog.
Is there public land near Derby?
16,511 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Derby or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 994 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Derby have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #57 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 Derby 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 →