Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
5,576 acres4.5 mi of trail
Deerfield Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Dover
Dover has 1,237 acres of parks, 844 for every 1,000 residents
31% of Dover’s land is conserved, about 7,111 acres. The biggest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest (4.5 mi). 24 miles of mapped trail cross Dover, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
7,111 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,237 ac
844 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,936 ft
Rice Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Dover?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dover have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dover is ahead of 80% 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 Dover’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land844 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,237 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home11% 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 80%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Dover’s 31% is ahead of 93% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% 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
The longest trail network is Green Mountain National Forest, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stratton Town Forest
Nature preserve
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
7,111 conserved acres
31% of Dover’s land. Who manages Dover’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service5,541 ac
Other state land1,210 ac
Town or city1,206 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits602 ac
Not recorded38 ac
National Forest · 5,541 acConservation Easement · 1,527 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1,212 acAgricultural Easement · 257 acPrivate Conservation · 32 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 312 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 27 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 | 5,541 | Open |
| Dover Town Forest Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1,206 | Open |
| Tannery Wildlife Refuge, Inc. Private Conservation | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Deer Meadows Owners Association Conservation Easement | Land trusts & nonprofits | 13 | Unknown |
| Town of Wilmington Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Dover
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dover
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Dover
Rice Hill2,936 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsCooper Hill2,566 ft elevation
DirectionsJohnson Hill2,467 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miUnpaved · 10.2 mi
Deerfield Ridge Trail1.5 mi
Crosstown Trail1.0 mi
Play Nice0.9 mi
Hathaway Trail0.9 mi
Valley Trail0.9 mi
Rice Hill Trail0.9 mi
Loop Trail0.8 mi
Three Bridges0.6 mi
Clinton Bond Trail0.5 mi
Bear Claw0.4 mi
15 more trails
Porcupine Ledge
0.4 miSherwood Forest Trail
0.4 miSwitchback
0.4 miSweet
0.3 miSpruced up
0.3 miNorth Overlook
0.3 miSugarhouse
0.2 miSpruce Loop
0.2 miGrade A
0.2 miConnector
0.2 miThe Way In
0.2 miSap Bucket
0.2 miSouth Overlook
0.2 miLittle John Trail
0.1 miToo Sweet
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.
Courts & fields
31Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
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 Dover: May to 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 70 | 74 | 73 | 66 | 54 | 42 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
February is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 74 °F). 5.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Dover →
Next door
Dover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 31% | 0.7 | 844 | 11% | A− |
| Newfane | 7% | 0.1 | 283 | 28% | B− |
| Wilmington | 22% | 0.9 | 308 | 26% | A− |
| Marlboro | 15% | 0.3 | 448 | 3% | B+ |
| Wardsboro | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stratton | — 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 Dover
Where can I hike in Dover?
The longest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest, 4.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dover is conserved land?
31% 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 Dover’s trails?
Green Mountain National Forest and Stratton Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dover?
94,951 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dover or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,805 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dover have?
Ahead of 80% 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 Dover 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 →