Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
11,318 acres15.6 mi of trail
Long TrailBattell TrailUSFS 349Town Highway 17+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lincoln
43% of Lincoln’s land is conserved: 12,696 acres
537 acres are parks and preserves, 385 per 1,000 residents. 36 miles of mapped trail cross Lincoln, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest (15.6 mi), Breadloaf Wilderness (6.6 mi).
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
43%
12,696 acres · of 45.6 sq mi of land
Trails
36 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
537 ac
385 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
4,012 ft
Mount Abraham
What kind of outdoors town is Lincoln?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lincoln have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lincoln is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lincoln’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (36 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land385 acres of park per 1,000 residents (537 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% 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 83%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Lincoln’s 43% is ahead of 99% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% 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 15.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Breadloaf Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,494 acres6.6 mi of trail
Long TrailCooley Glen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Bristol Cliffs Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
179 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
12,696 conserved acres
43% of Lincoln’s land. Who manages Lincoln’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service11,404 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,654 ac
Not recorded534 ac
National Forest · 11,404 acConservation Easement · 1,431 acLocal Resource Management Area · 346 acAgricultural Easement · 223 acLocal Other or Unknown · 186 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 835 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 25 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 | 11,404 | Open |
| Bristol Waterworks Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 184 | Open |
| Lincoln Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 178 | Unknown |
| Colby Hill Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 168 | Unknown |
| Urz Lot Conservatoin Area Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Vermont Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
16 places to go in Lincoln
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Lincoln
Sunset LedgeIn Breadloaf Wilderness
DirectionsPlus 4 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Lincoln
Mount Abraham4,012 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsLincoln Peak3,976 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsLittle Abe3,901 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsNancy Hanks Peak3,799 ft elevation · In Green Mountain National Forest
DirectionsMount Grant3,622 ft elevation · In Breadloaf Wilderness
DirectionsMount Cleveland3,471 ft elevation · In Breadloaf Wilderness
DirectionsMount Pleasant2,001 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Rock1,870 ft elevation
Directions2 more peaks
Bald Hill1,614 ft elevation
DirectionsAlder Hill1,509 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Lincoln
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
10 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.3 miHorses · 2.3 miUnpaved · 22.6 mi
Long Trail9.3 mi
Battell Trail1.8 mi
USFS 3491.7 mi
Cooley Glen Trail1.5 mi
Town Highway 171.0 mi
Town Highway 250.9 mi
Purinton Road West0.6 mi
Emily Proctor Trail0.3 mi
Natl Forest Road 810.2 mi
Jester0.1 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
1Multi-sport
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lincoln: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 38 | 52 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 55 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lincoln →
Next door
Lincoln 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 43% | 0.8 | 385 | 14% | A− |
| Bristol | 30% | 0.6 | 51 | 53% | A− |
| Warren | 36% | 1.0 | 116 | 11% | A− |
| Ripton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Starksboro | 15% | 0.4 | 1,260 | 27% | B+ |
| Granville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fayston | 27% | 1.2 | 110 | 2% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lincoln
Where can I hike in Lincoln?
The longest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest, 15.6 miles; Breadloaf Wilderness, 6.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lincoln is conserved land?
43% 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 Lincoln’s trails?
Green Mountain National Forest and Breadloaf Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lincoln?
65,195 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lincoln or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,209 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lincoln have?
Ahead of 83% 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 Lincoln 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 →