Sweet Pond State Park
Park
105 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Guilford
Guilford has 475 acres of parks, 193 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sweet Pond State Park (1.1 mi), Fort Dummer State Park (0.6 mi). 7% of Guilford’s land is conserved, about 1,692 acres. 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,692 acres · of 39.5 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
475 ac
193 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,631 ft
Governors Mountain
Lakes & rivers
6
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Guilford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Guilford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Guilford is ahead of 67% 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 Guilford’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land193 acres of park per 1,000 residents (475 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 67%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Guilford’s 7% is ahead of 15% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% 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 Sweet Pond State Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fort Dummer State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
119 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,692 conserved acres
7% of Guilford’s land. Who manages Guilford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,325 ac
State fish & wildlife13 ac
Not recorded498 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,416 acUnknown Easement · 541 acAgricultural Easement · 382 acState Park · 302 acState Conservation Area · 150 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,195 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 16 of 61 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Dummer State Park State Park | Not recorded | 197 | Open |
| Roaring Brook Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 150 | Open |
| Sweet Pond State Park State Park | Not recorded | 105 | Open |
| Weatherhead Hollow Pond State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Open |
| Leyden Rifle Club Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Restricted |
Things to do
11 places to go in Guilford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Guilford
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Guilford
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Guilford
Governors Mountain1,631 ft elevation
DirectionsOwls Head Mountain1,444 ft elevation
DirectionsBelden Hill1,434 ft elevation
DirectionsEast Mountain1,365 ft elevation
DirectionsWilkens Hill1,286 ft elevation
DirectionsPulpit Mountain1,227 ft elevation
DirectionsWest Hill942 ft elevation
DirectionsGallup Pinnacle
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →6 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.
Green River Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itChrist ChurchBuilding · listed 1982
About itGuilford Center MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itGreen River Crib DamStructure · listed 1995
About itBroad Brook HouseBuilding · listed 2011
About itBroad Brook Grange HallBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Guilford: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Guilford →
Next door
Guilford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilford | 7% | 0.4 | 193 | 24% | B+ |
| Halifax | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Vernon | 23% | 1.7 | 447 | 56% | A |
| Brattleboro | 16% | 1.3 | 65 | 84% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Guilford
Where can I hike in Guilford?
The longest trail networks: Sweet Pond State Park, 1.1 miles; Fort Dummer State Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Guilford is conserved land?
7% 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 Guilford’s trails?
Sweet Pond State Park and Fort Dummer State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Guilford?
37,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Guilford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 536 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Guilford have?
Ahead of 67% 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 Guilford 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 →