Hogback Mountain Conservation Area
Nature preserve
588 acres5.6 mi of trail
White's LoopDouglas TrailLittle Hogback LoopBishop Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Hogback Mountain ParkingWebsite ↗
Photo: Jared C. Benedict (Redjar at en.wikipedia); cropped by Beyond My Ken 21:17, 16 April 2012 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Marlboro
Marlboro has 610 acres of parks, 448 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Marlboro’s land is conserved, about 3,812 acres. The biggest trail networks: Hogback Mountain Conservation Area (5.6 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
3,812 acres · of 40.3 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
610 ac
448 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,379 ft
Hogback Mountain
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Marlboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marlboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marlboro is ahead of 66% 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 Marlboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land448 acres of park per 1,000 residents (610 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Marlboro’s 15% is ahead of 52% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 18% 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 Hogback Mountain Conservation Area, with 5.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Old Muster Ground
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,812 conserved acres
15% of Marlboro’s land. Who manages Marlboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits6,420 ac
Not recorded268 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,535 acAgricultural Easement · 2,556 acUnknown Easement · 330 acLocal Other or Unknown · 258 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,543 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 45 of 118 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Lake Watershed Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 258 | Unknown |
| Marlboro Center Park Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| South Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Marlboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Marlboro
South Pond
DirectionsScenic views in Marlboro
Scenic Overlook
DirectionsPeaks in Marlboro
Hogback Mountain2,379 ft elevation · In Hogback Mountain Conservation Area
DirectionsHigley Hill2,257 ft elevation
DirectionsCentral Mountain1,991 ft elevation
DirectionsLyman Hill1,991 ft elevation
DirectionsStratton Hill1,932 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
14 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.2 mi
Ho Chi Minh Trail1.5 mi
White's Loop1.1 mi
Douglas Trail0.8 mi
Ridge Trail0.8 mi
Rim Run0.7 mi
Little Hogback Loop0.6 mi
Raponda Ridge Trail0.6 mi
Bishop Trail0.5 mi
Hogback Summit Trail0.4 mi
Tower Trail0.3 mi
4 more trails
Private Trail
0.3 miCross Mountain Trail
0.3 miTower Trail (white)
0.3 miMES Cutoff
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
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
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marlboro: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 40 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 4.7 |
February is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Marlboro →
Next door
Marlboro 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlboro | 15% | 0.3 | 448 | 3% | B+ |
| Halifax | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dover | 31% | 0.7 | 844 | 11% | A− |
| Brattleboro | 16% | 1.3 | 65 | 84% | A |
| Dummerston | 18% | 0.4 | 509 | 30% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marlboro
Where can I hike in Marlboro?
The longest trail networks: Hogback Mountain Conservation Area, 5.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marlboro is conserved land?
15% 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 Marlboro’s trails?
Hogback Mountain Conservation Area and Old Muster Ground don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marlboro?
44,319 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marlboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 620 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marlboro have?
Ahead of 66% 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 Marlboro 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 →