Groton State Forest
Nature preserve
3,567 acres5.4 mi of trail
Kettle Pond Loop TrailMarshfield Ledges approach trailMulti Use connector trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Marshfield
30% of Marshfield’s land is conserved: 8,298 acres
The biggest trail networks: Groton State Forest (5.4 mi). 59 acres are parks and preserves, 32 per 1,000 residents. 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
8,298 acres · of 43.3 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
32 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.9 mi
5.9 mi paths
Highest peak
2,251 ft
Burnt Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Marshfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marshfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marshfield is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marshfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land32 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home15% 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 67%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Marshfield’s 30% is ahead of 93% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% 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 Groton State Forest, with 5.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Molly's Falls Pond State Park
Managed by Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
8,298 conserved acres
30% of Marshfield’s land. Who manages Marshfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,526 ac
State parks2,146 ac
Other state land71 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded4,010 ac
Conservation Easement · 4,283 acState Resource Management Area · 3,791 acAgricultural Easement · 1,445 acLocal Resource Management Area · 101 acLocal Other or Unknown · 101 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,287 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 47 of 136 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Groton State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 3,791 | Open |
| Marshfield Village Waterworks Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 88 | Unknown |
| Twinfield School Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 58 | Unknown |
| Marshfield Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 43 | Unknown |
| Molly’s Falls Pond State Park State Park | Not recorded | 15 | Open |
| Groton Forest Legacy Initiative Molly's Falls Pond State Conservation Area | State parks | 14 | Open |
| Plainfield Village Waterworks Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Winooski River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Town of Plainfield Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Marshfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Marshfield
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Marshfield
Burnt Mountain2,251 ft elevation · In Groton State Forest
DirectionsHardwood Mountain2,172 ft elevation
DirectionsKettle Mountain2,146 ft elevation · In Groton State Forest
DirectionsMarshfield Mountain2,110 ft elevation · In Groton State Forest
DirectionsDrew Mountain1,929 ft elevation · In Groton State Forest
DirectionsDevils Hill1,857 ft elevation
DirectionsLords Hill1,857 ft elevation
DirectionsDebby Hill1,572 ft elevation
Directions4 more peaks
Gritt Hill1,470 ft elevation
DirectionsHollister Hill1,368 ft elevation
DirectionsMays Mountain1,329 ft elevation
DirectionsKnob Hill1,322 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Marshfield
Onion River Campground
DirectionsTent site 10In Groton State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.7 miHorses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 6.7 mi
Kettle Pond Loop Trail1.6 mi
Railroad Bed East1.1 mi
Marshfield Ledges approach trail0.7 mi
Multi Use connector trail0.6 mi
Pattys Crossing0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Cross Vermont TrailBike route
1.1 miHistory along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marshfield: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Marshfield →
Next door
Marshfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshfield | 30% | 0.4 | 32 | 15% | B+ |
| Cabot | 13% | 0.2 | 670 | 23% | B+ |
| Plainfield | 13% | 0.2 | 510 | 45% | B+ |
| Groton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Peacham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Calais | 10% | 0.2 | 213 | 25% | B |
| East Montpelier | 23% | 0.5 | 48 | 9% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marshfield
Where can I hike in Marshfield?
The longest trail networks: Groton State Forest, 5.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marshfield is conserved land?
30% 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 Marshfield’s trails?
Groton State Forest and Molly's Falls Pond State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marshfield?
5.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.9 of off-road paths. Named routes: Cross Vermont Trail.
Is there public land near Marshfield?
50,446 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marshfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,718 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marshfield have?
Ahead of 67% 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 Marshfield 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 →