Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
5,425 acres16.5 mi of trail
East Dorset TrailDorset Hollow TrailBeech RidgeLower Beech Ridge
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Dorset
Dorset has 2,104 acres of parks, 1,006 for every 1,000 residents
32% of Dorset’s land is conserved, about 9,662 acres. 77 miles of mapped trail cross Dorset, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest (16.5 mi), Owls Head Town Forest (6.8 mi), Raptor Lane Town Property (5.3 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
9,662 acres · of 47.4 sq mi of land
Trails
77 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,104 ac
1,006 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,720 ft
Dorset Mountain, South Peak
Lakes & rivers
8
What kind of outdoors town is Dorset?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Room to roam1,006 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild32% of the land is conserved; a typical Vermont town, 14%.A trail town1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 90% of U.S. towns.History along the way4 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dorset have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dorset is ahead of 90% 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 Dorset’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (77 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4APark land1,006 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,104 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home24% 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 90%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Dorset’s 32% is ahead of 93% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% 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 Green Mountain National Forest, with 16.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Owls Head Town Forest
Nature preserve
265 acres6.8 mi of trail
Lunch (bike)Maple Creemee (bike)Gettysberm (bike)Gilberts Lookout (Blue)+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Raptor Lane Town Property
Nature preserve
324 acres5.3 mi of trail
Sidehill Wampus (bike)TBN Downhill (bike)Lunch (bike)TBN Traverse (bike)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Big Branch Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
430 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Mount Aeolus Natural Area
Nature preserve
273 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Green Mountain National Forest5,425 acres · 16.5 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Owls Head Town Forest265 acres · 6.8 mi of trail
Raptor Lane Town Property324 acres · 5.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBig Branch Wilderness430 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Mount Aeolus Natural Area273 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area430 acres · United States Forest Service
Black Rock Natural Area37 acres
Who protects it
9,662 conserved acres
32% of Dorset’s land. Who manages Dorset’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service5,720 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4,742 ac
Other state land100 ac
Joint37 ac
Not recorded2,093 ac
National Forest · 5,720 acConservation Easement · 2,310 acPrivate Conservation · 1,534 acAgricultural Easement · 1,492 acState Park · 868 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,750 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 28 of 83 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Mountain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 5,720 | Open |
| Emerald Lake State Park State Park | Not recorded | 868 | Open |
| Equinox Highlands Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 407 | Open |
| Mount Equinox Highlands Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 397 | Closed |
| Dorset Bat Cave Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 252 | Closed |
| Dorset Town Forest Unknown | Not recorded | 213 | Open |
| Mount Aeolus Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 151 | Open |
| New England Forestry Foundation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 140 | Unknown |
| Smokey House Project Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 86 | Closed |
| Dorest Memorial Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 42 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Dorset
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dorset
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Dorset
Natural Bridge Falls
DirectionsPlus 7 waterfalls without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Dorset
Gilbert LookoutIn Owls Head Town Forest
DirectionsPeaks in Dorset
Dorset Mountain, South Peak3,720 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsMount Aeolus3,209 ft elevation · In Mount Aeolus Natural Area
DirectionsNetop Mountain2,871 ft elevation
DirectionsThe Mettawee2,802 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsDorset Hill2,766 ft elevation
DirectionsOwls Head2,474 ft elevation · In Owls Head Town Forest
DirectionsThe Scallop2,313 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Dorset
Dorset RV Park
DirectionsEmerald Lake State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.9 miUnpaved · 23.4 mi
Vista Trail2.3 mi
Sidehill Wampus (bike)1.8 mi
Lunch (bike)1.7 mi
Beech Ridge1.3 mi
East Dorset Trail1.3 mi
Maple Creemee (bike)1.0 mi
Legal Trail 61.0 mi
Gilberts Lookout (Blue)0.8 mi
Gettysberm (bike)0.7 mi
Dorset Hollow Trail0.7 mi
15 more trails
Lake Trail
0.7 miGettysburg Alternative (Yellow)
0.6 miTBN Downhill (bike)
0.6 miOwls Head Loop (Red)
0.6 miLower Beech Ridge
0.5 miUpper Trail
0.5 miTBN Traverse (bike)
0.5 miTrail To Area C
0.4 miLower Prince Quarry Loop (Orange)
0.4 miRich Woods Trail
0.4 miGettysburg Quarry (Blue)
0.4 miEmerald Lake State Park Trail
0.3 miEntrance (Green)
0.3 miMo-Joe
0.2 miKlondike Quarry (Blue)
0.2 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.
Courts & fields
13Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dorset: May, August 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dorset →
Next door
Dorset and its neighbors
Dorset 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset | 32% | 1.6 | 1,006 | 24% | A |
| Danby | 26% | 0.5 | 89 | 18% | B+ |
| Mount Tabor | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Manchester | 33% | 1.3 | 362 | 43% | A |
| Rupert | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Peru | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Winhall | 61% | 1.4 | 1,247 | 25% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dorset
Where can I hike in Dorset?
The longest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest, 16.5 miles; Owls Head Town Forest, 6.8 miles; Raptor Lane Town Property, 5.3 miles; Big Branch Wilderness, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dorset is conserved land?
32% 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 Dorset’s trails?
Green Mountain National Forest and Owls Head Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dorset?
61,610 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dorset or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,556 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dorset have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Dorset 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 →