C.C. Putnam State Forest
Nature preserve
1,970 acres4.2 mi of trail
Middlesex TrailWhite Rock TrailWaterbury Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Middlesex
Middlesex has 1,224 acres of parks, 630 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Middlesex’s land is conserved, about 4,503 acres. The biggest trail networks: C.C. Putnam State Forest (4.2 mi), Middlesex Town Forest (1.8 mi). 15 miles of mapped trail cross Middlesex, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
4,503 acres · of 39.5 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,224 ac
630 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,176 ft
White Rock Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Middlesex?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlesex have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlesex 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 Middlesex’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land630 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,224 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home0% 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 Middlesex’s 18% is ahead of 65% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 24% 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 C.C. Putnam State Forest, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Middlesex Town Forest
Nature preserve
404 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
533 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Middlesex Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
278 acres0.1 mi of trail
Town Highway 37
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,503 conserved acres
18% of Middlesex’s land. Who manages Middlesex’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,557 ac
State fish & wildlife557 ac
State conservation176 ac
Other state land7 ac
Not recorded2,633 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,843 acConservation Easement · 1,465 acAgricultural Easement · 1,042 acState Other or Unknown · 678 acState Conservation Area · 533 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,442 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 20 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.C. Putnam State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,843 | Open |
| Wrightsville Dam State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 678 | Open |
| Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 533 | Open |
| Vermont Riverlands Private Conservation | Not recorded | 7 | Restricted |
Things to do
16 places to go in Middlesex
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Middlesex
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Middlesex
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Middlesex
Wrightsville Reservoir Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Middlesex
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Middlesex
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Middlesex
White Rock Mountain3,176 ft elevation · In C.C. Putnam State Forest
DirectionsBurnt Mountain2,743 ft elevation · In C.C. Putnam State Forest
DirectionsDensmore Mountain2,628 ft elevation · In C.C. Putnam State Forest
DirectionsChases Mountain2,221 ft elevation · In Middlesex Town Forest
DirectionsDumpling Hill1,916 ft elevation
DirectionsEast Hill1,880 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Middlesex
Shady Rill Picnic Area
DirectionsDisc golf in Middlesex
Wrightsville Beach Disc Golf
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.9 miHorses · 3.9 miUnpaved · 5.6 mi
Davy Trail1.8 mi
Middlesex Trail1.3 mi
White Rock Trail1.1 mi
Town Highway 371.1 mi
Town Highway 250.4 mi
Waterbury Trail0.4 mi
Sunnybrook Trail0.3 mi
Town Highway 240.1 mi
Lakes & 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
2Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Middlesex: 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) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 52 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Middlesex →
Next door
Middlesex and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Waterbury66 miMontpelier25 miWorcester16 miEast Montpelier15 miBerlin15 miMiddlesex15 miMoretown9.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex | 18% | 0.4 | 630 | under 1% | B+ |
| Moretown | 11% | 0.2 | 10 | 36% | B− |
| Berlin | 13% | 0.4 | 374 | 30% | B+ |
| Waterbury | 11% | 1.4 | 44 | 38% | A− |
| Montpelier | 8% | 2.5 | 65 | 69% | A |
| Worcester | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| 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 Middlesex
Where can I hike in Middlesex?
The longest trail networks: C.C. Putnam State Forest, 4.2 miles; Middlesex Town Forest, 1.8 miles; Middlesex Notch Wildlife Management Area, 0.2 miles; Middlesex Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middlesex is conserved land?
18% 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 Middlesex’s trails?
C.C. Putnam State Forest and Middlesex Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Middlesex?
55,094 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlesex or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,765 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middlesex 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 Middlesex 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 →