Grand Isle State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
225 acres0.8 mi of trail
Iron Wood Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Grand Isle
Grand Isle has 206 acres of parks, 94 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Grand Isle’s land is conserved, about 986 acres. The biggest trail networks: Grand Isle State Park (0.8 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
986 acres · of 16.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
206 ac
94 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Grand Isle?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grand Isle have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Isle is ahead of 64% 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 Grand Isle’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land94 acres of park per 1,000 residents (206 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks 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 64%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Grand Isle’s 9% is ahead of 31% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% of them.
Water is more than half of Grand Isle’s area (19 of 35 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 Grand Isle State Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
986 conserved acres
9% of Grand Isle’s land. Water is left out: Grand Isle has 16.4 square miles of land and 18.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grand Isle’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,208 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)29 ac
Not recorded363 ac
Conservation Easement · 644 acAgricultural Easement · 593 acState Park · 206 acState Other or Unknown · 157 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 623 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 60 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Isle State Park State Park | Not recorded | 206 | Open |
| Ed Weed Fish Culture Station State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 148 | Open |
| South Sister Island State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| The Gut Access Area State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Restricted |
| Vantines Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Grand Isle
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grand Isle
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Grand Isle
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Grand Isle
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Grand Isle
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Grand Isle
Champlain Adult Campground
DirectionsGrand Isle State Park CampgroundIn Grand Isle State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Iron Wood Nature Trail0.7 mi
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
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Grand Isle: 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 | 15.6 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 54 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Grand Isle →
Next door
Grand Isle and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Plattsburgh27 miMilton25 miSt. Albans10 miSouth Hero9.2 miNorth Hero8.2 miGeorgia8.0 miGrand Isle5.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Isle | 9% | 0.3 | 94 | 24% | B |
| North Hero | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milton | 14% | 0.5 | 210 | 30% | A− |
| St. Albans | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| South Hero | 19% | 0.6 | 124 | 29% | A− |
| Georgia | 9% | 0.2 | 18 | 21% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grand Isle
Where can I hike in Grand Isle?
The longest trail networks: Grand Isle State Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Isle 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 Grand Isle’s trails?
Grand Isle State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grand Isle?
10,901 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Isle or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 363 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grand Isle have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Grand Isle 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 →