Atlas Timberlands
Managed by Vermont Land Trust
6,878 acres4.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Mfwills · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Montgomery
30% of Montgomery’s land is conserved: 10,876 acres
292 acres are parks and preserves, 278 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Atlas Timberlands (4.4 mi). 5% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
10,876 acres · of 56.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
292 ac
278 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,658 ft
Big Jay
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Montgomery?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montgomery have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montgomery is ahead of 63% 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 Montgomery’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land278 acres of park per 1,000 residents (292 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home5% 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 63%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Montgomery’s 30% is ahead of 93% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 1% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Atlas Timberlands, with 4.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jay State Forest
Nature preserve
2,035 acres0.1 mi of trail
Big Jay herd path
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Avery's Gore State Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
223 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
10,876 conserved acres
30% of Montgomery’s land. Who manages Montgomery’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits18,225 ac
State parks2,296 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government151 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)150 ac
Not recorded592 ac
Conservation Easement · 14,723 acPrivate Conservation · 4,622 acUnknown Easement · 1,167 acAgricultural Easement · 311 acState Resource Management Area · 308 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5,792 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 36 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas Timberlands Partnership Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4,620 | Closed |
| Long Trail State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 303 | Open |
| Avery's Gore Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 223 | Open |
| Montgomery Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 49 | Unknown |
| Three Holes Natural and Recreation Area Local Park | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| Jay State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
| Northern Appalachian - Acadian Ecoregion (Vt) Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
7 places to go in Montgomery
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Montgomery
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Montgomery
Big Jay3,658 ft elevation · In Jay State Forest
DirectionsLittle Jay3,045 ft elevation · In Jay State Forest
DirectionsBurnt Mountain2,585 ft elevation · In Atlas Timberlands
DirectionsPlus 3 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miHorses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 4.4 mi
Catamount Trail1.4 mi
Long Trail0.2 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
3Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Comstock Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itHectorville Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itFuller Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itHutchins Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itLongley Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itWest Hill Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itSt. Bartholomew's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1988
About itMontgomery HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itCommunity Baptist Church and ParsonageBuilding · listed 2015
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Montgomery: 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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 37 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
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 Montgomery →
Next door
Montgomery and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Eden38 miWestfield24 miLowell22 miBelvidere19 miBakersfield9.2 miMontgomery8.4 miRichford8.3 miEnosburgh4.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 30% | 0.1 | 278 | 5% | B |
| Enosburgh | 14% | 0.1 | 41 | 38% | B |
| Westfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lowell | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Richford | 23% | 0.2 | 128 | 56% | A− |
| Belvidere | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eden | 48% | 0.6 | 421 | under 1% | A− |
| Bakersfield | 12% | 0.2 | 4 | 26% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montgomery
Where can I hike in Montgomery?
The longest trail networks: Atlas Timberlands, 4.4 miles; Jay State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montgomery 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 Montgomery’s trails?
Atlas Timberlands and Jay State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Montgomery?
28,868 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montgomery or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,244 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Montgomery have?
Ahead of 63% 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 Montgomery 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 →