Mount Mansfield State Forest
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
2,325 acres4.8 mi of trail
Long Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bridge 6 · Photo: Mfwills · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Johnson
26% of Johnson’s land is conserved: 7,429 acres
680 acres are parks and preserves, 197 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Mount Mansfield State Forest (4.8 mi), The Old Mill Park (0.6 mi). 24 miles of mapped trail cross Johnson, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #23 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
7,429 acres · of 45.3 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
680 ac
197 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.8 mi
6.8 mi paths
Highest peak
2,165 ft
Butternut Mountain
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Johnson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Johnson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Johnson is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #23 of 71 in Vermont. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Johnson’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land197 acres of park per 1,000 residents (680 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home57% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 69%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Johnson’s 26% is ahead of 86% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% 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 Mount Mansfield State Forest, with 4.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Old Mill Park
Park
21 acres0.6 mi of trail
Old Mill Park Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lower Pond
Park
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Lower Pond Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Morristown Town Forest
Nature preserve
29 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Mount Mansfield State Forest2,325 acres · 4.8 mi of trail · Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation
The Old Mill Park21 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLower Pond9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMorristown Town Forest29 acres
Mineart Athletics Fields11 acres · Northern Vermont University
DirectionsJohnson Skate Park5 acres
DirectionsSculpture Park4 acres · Northern Vermont University
DirectionsAlumni Rugby Field3 acres
Beard Park3 acres
Nelson Duba (Checkerberry) Field2 acres
DirectionsLegion Field1 acres
DirectionsDewey Green1 acres · Northern Vermont University
DirectionsCollege Garden and Playground1 acres · Northern Vermont University
Who protects it
7,429 conserved acres
26% of Johnson’s land. Who manages Johnson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,086 ac
Other state land614 ac
State parks551 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government363 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)340 ac
State conservation197 ac
Not recorded4,227 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,640 acConservation Easement · 3,110 acAgricultural Easement · 1,938 acForest Stewardship Easement · 892 acLocal Resource Management Area · 466 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,117 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 30 of 117 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Mansfield State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 2,346 | Open |
| Long Trail State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,295 | Open |
| Johnson Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 441 | Unknown |
| Green Mountain Club Private Conservation | Not recorded | 165 | Open |
| Lamoille River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 41 | Open |
| Morristown Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 25 | Unknown |
Things to do
9 places to go in Johnson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Johnson
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Johnson
Dog Head Falls
DirectionsSloping Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Johnson
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Johnson
Butternut Mountain2,165 ft elevation
DirectionsCaper Hill2,087 ft elevation · In Mount Mansfield State Forest
DirectionsProspect Rock1,020 ft elevation
DirectionsEmery Mountain
DirectionsCampgrounds in Johnson
Maplewoods Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 15.8 mi
Long Trail12.7 mi
Old Mill Park Walking Path0.7 mi
Davis Neighborhood Trail0.5 mi
Town Highway 230.3 mi
Drag Lot0.2 mi
Prospect Rock Spur0.2 mi
Lower Pond Loop0.2 mi
Town Highway 680.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Soccer
4Tennis
3Baseball
1Basketball
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Johnson: 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) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Johnson →
Next door
Johnson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson | 26% | 0.5 | 197 | 57% | A |
| Morristown | 21% | 1.0 | 104 | 41% | A |
| Cambridge | 22% | 0.4 | 35 | 26% | B+ |
| Hyde Park | 21% | 0.4 | 159 | 36% | A− |
| Eden | 48% | 0.6 | 421 | under 1% | A− |
| Waterville | — 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 Johnson
Where can I hike in Johnson?
The longest trail networks: Mount Mansfield State Forest, 4.8 miles; The Old Mill Park, 0.6 miles; Lower Pond, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Johnson is conserved land?
26% 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 Johnson’s trails?
Mount Mansfield State Forest and The Old Mill Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Johnson?
6.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Johnson?
52,574 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Johnson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,726 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Johnson have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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 Johnson 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 →