Okemo State Forest
Nature preserve
2,254 acres2.6 mi of trail
Bear ClimbMoose Trek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Congregational Church of Ludlow · Photo: Tyler Goodrich · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ludlow
Ludlow has 732 acres of parks, 368 for every 1,000 residents
14% of Ludlow’s land is conserved, about 3,052 acres. The biggest trail networks: Okemo State Forest (2.6 mi), Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area (1.3 mi). 26 miles of mapped trail cross Ludlow, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
3,052 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
732 ac
368 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,178 ft
Bear Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ludlow?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ludlow have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ludlow is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ludlow’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land368 acres of park per 1,000 residents (732 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home41% 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 Ludlow’s 14% is ahead of 48% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% 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 Okemo State Forest, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
469 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ludlow Town Forest
Nature preserve
193 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,052 conserved acres
14% of Ludlow’s land. Who manages Ludlow’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land282 ac
State conservation26 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits17 ac
State parks3 ac
Not recorded2,761 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,047 acState Conservation Area · 465 acConservation Easement · 292 acLocal Resource Management Area · 248 acUnknown Easement · 28 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 291 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okemo State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 2,047 | Unknown |
| Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 465 | Open |
| Ludlow Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 224 | Unknown |
| Black River High School Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Lake Rescue Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Ludlow
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Ludlow
Lake Rescue
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Ludlow
Peaks in Ludlow
Bear Hill2,178 ft elevation
DirectionsWhetstone Hill1,995 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Moose Trek Trail1.8 mi
Bear Climb1.7 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
9Tennis
3Baseball
1Basketball
1Skate park
1Soccer
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).
Black River AcademyBuilding · listed 1972
About itLudlow Graded SchoolBuilding · listed 1979
About itZachariah Spaulding FarmBuilding · listed 1993
About itCongregational Church of LudlowBuilding · listed 2004
About itLudlow Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007
About itFletcher Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ludlow: May and July 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ludlow →
Next door
Ludlow 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludlow | 14% | 0.8 | 368 | 41% | A− |
| Mount Holly | 30% | 0.4 | 123 | 4% | B+ |
| Plymouth | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cavendish | 20% | 0.2 | 2,537 | 53% | A− |
| Chester | 4% | 0.8 | 185 | 3% | B |
| Andover | — 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 Ludlow
Where can I hike in Ludlow?
The longest trail networks: Okemo State Forest, 2.6 miles; Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ludlow is conserved land?
14% 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 Ludlow’s trails?
Okemo State Forest and Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ludlow?
54,664 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ludlow or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,371 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ludlow 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 Ludlow 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 →