Raven Ridge Natural Area
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
201 acres1.2 mi of trail
Raven Ridge Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:Dismas · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Monkton
Monkton has 301 acres of parks, 150 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Monkton’s land is conserved, about 2,832 acres. The biggest trail networks: Raven Ridge Natural Area (1.2 mi). 11 miles of mapped trail cross Monkton, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,832 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
301 ac
150 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,319 ft
Hogback
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Monkton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Monkton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Monkton is ahead of 64% 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 Monkton’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land150 acres of park per 1,000 residents (301 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home12% 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 64%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Monkton’s 12% is ahead of 41% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% 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 Raven Ridge Natural Area, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,832 conserved acres
12% of Monkton’s land. Who manages Monkton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,517 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)463 ac
State fish & wildlife200 ac
State conservation149 ac
Joint109 ac
Other state land48 ac
Not recorded195 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,868 acAgricultural Easement · 1,734 acUnknown Easement · 683 acPrivate Conservation · 210 acState Other or Unknown · 69 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,437 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 27 of 126 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Southeast Hill Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 200 | Closed |
| Pond Brook Cedars Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 68 | Open |
| Lewis Creek Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 61 | Open |
| Unk4 Unknown | Not recorded | 48 | Unknown |
| Raven Ridge Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
| Bristol Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Monkton Pond Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Monkton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Monkton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Monkton
Monkton Community Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Monkton
Boat Ramp
DirectionsBoat Ramp
DirectionsFishing spots in Monkton
Bristol Pond Access Area
DirectionsTyler Bridge Fishing Access
DirectionsScenic views in Monkton
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Monkton
Hogback1,319 ft elevation
DirectionsHogback Mountain942 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Fuller883 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Florona709 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miHorses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 3.1 mi
Raven Ridge Trail1.2 mi
Dinner at the Inlaws0.5 mi
Double Bypass0.5 mi
Playground0.5 mi
Twisted Sister0.2 mi
Frayed Sanity0.2 mi
Forest Green0.2 mi
Heathcliff0.2 mi
Town Highway 240.2 mi
Mud Muffin0.1 mi
3 more trails
Gravitational Disregard
0.1 miFunnel Cake
0.1 miButtered Muffin
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
2Equestrian
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Monkton: 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) | 28 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Monkton →
Next door
Monkton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monkton | 12% | 0.3 | 150 | 12% | B |
| Charlotte | 22% | 0.5 | 221 | 34% | A− |
| Hinesburg | 20% | 1.6 | 480 | 26% | A |
| Ferrisburgh | 39% | 0.4 | 1,084 | 36% | A− |
| Starksboro | 15% | 0.4 | 1,260 | 27% | B+ |
| New Haven | 15% | 0.3 | 1 | 5% | C |
| Bristol | 30% | 0.6 | 51 | 53% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Monkton
Where can I hike in Monkton?
The longest trail networks: Raven Ridge Natural Area, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Monkton is conserved land?
12% 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 Monkton’s trails?
Raven Ridge Natural Area and Willowell Foundation don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Monkton?
44,463 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Monkton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 815 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Monkton have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Monkton 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 →