Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve
Nature preserve
67 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hardwick
Hardwick has 477 acres of parks, 161 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Hardwick’s land is conserved, about 2,731 acres. 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Hardwick, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #45 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,731 acres · of 38.3 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
477 ac
161 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Highest peak
1,854 ft
Jeudevine Mountain
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Hardwick?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hardwick have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hardwick is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #45 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 Hardwick’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land161 acres of park per 1,000 residents (477 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home31% 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 73%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 37%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Hardwick’s 11% is ahead of 37% 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 Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,731 conserved acres
11% of Hardwick’s land. Who manages Hardwick’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,203 ac
State conservation118 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)117 ac
Other state land15 ac
Not recorded549 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,175 acAgricultural Easement · 2,055 acLocal Resource Management Area · 406 acUnknown Easement · 132 acState Other or Unknown · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,182 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 49 of 129 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick Village Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 406 | Unknown |
| Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 70 | Open |
| Lamoille River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 68 | Open |
| Hardwick Lake Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Hardwick
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hardwick
Swimming Hole
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Hardwick
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Hardwick
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hardwick
Jeudevine Mountain1,854 ft elevation
DirectionsBuffalo Mountain1,555 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Hardwick
Rest Spot for trail users
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Hardwick
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
16 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Shepard's Trail2.2 mi
Eaton Brooke Loop1.0 mi
Larry's Legacy0.9 mi
Reggae Roundabout0.7 mi
HED North0.7 mi
Two Bridges0.6 mi
Shepard's Trace0.5 mi
Wild West0.4 mi
Dave's Drop0.3 mi
Billings Bypass0.3 mi
6 more trails
Rocky Top
0.2 miTown Highway 45
0.1 miUpside Down
0.1 miNo Fun Allowed
0.1 miMiddle School
0.1 miriver access
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Soccer
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Hardwick Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itDowntown Hardwick Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itCobb SchoolBuilding · listed 1993
About itBuilding at 143 Highland AvenueBuilding · listed 2000
About itDowntown Hardwick Village Historic DiistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itCaledonia No. 9 Grange HallBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hardwick: 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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hardwick →
Next door
Hardwick 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwick | 11% | 0.5 | 161 | 31% | B+ |
| Woodbury | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Walden | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Greensboro | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wolcott | 14% | 0.2 | 322 | 16% | B |
| Elmore | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stannard | — 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 Hardwick
Where can I hike in Hardwick?
The longest trail networks: Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hardwick is conserved land?
11% 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 Hardwick’s trails?
Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hardwick?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hardwick?
31,923 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hardwick or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 566 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hardwick have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #45 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 Hardwick 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 →