Hubbard Park
Nature preserve
253 acres8 mi of trail
Fitness TrailMulti-Use ConnectorStone Tower PathPond-Tower Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Montpelier
Montpelier has 25 miles of mapped trails, 2.5 for every square mile of land
521 acres are parks and preserves, 65 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hubbard Park (8 mi), North Branch River Park (6.6 mi), North Branch Nature Center (1.3 mi). 8% of Montpelier’s land is conserved, about 483 acres.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #10 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
483 acres · of 10.1 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
2.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
521 ac
65 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.7 mi
4.2 mi lanes · 3.4 mi paths
Highest peak
823 ft
Dewey Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Montpelier?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montpelier have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montpelier is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #10 of 71 in Vermont. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Montpelier’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land65 acres of park per 1,000 residents (521 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home69% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 89%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 87%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Montpelier’s 8% is ahead of 21% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 94% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Hubbard Park, with 8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Branch River Park
Nature preserve
196 acres6.6 mi of trail
Barred Owl BoulevardSparrow Farm TrailNorth Branch River PathSapsucker+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
North Branch Nature Center
Nature preserve
27 acres1.3 mi of trail
North Branch Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Dog River Recreation Area
Nature preserve
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Hubbard Park253 acres · 8 mi of trail
North Branch River Park196 acres · 6.6 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Branch Nature Center27 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsDog River Recreation Area9 acres
DirectionsBlanchard Park2 acres · City of Montpelier
DirectionsWho protects it
483 conserved acres
8% of Montpelier’s land. Who manages Montpelier’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits330 ac
Other state land240 ac
Town or city43 ac
Not recorded46 ac
Conservation Easement · 398 acAgricultural Easement · 149 acState Other or Unknown · 46 acLocal Park · 43 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 370 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrightsville Dam State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 45 | Open |
| North Branch River Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| State House Park And Open Space State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 23 | Open |
| Montpelier Recereation Field Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Winooski River Streambank State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Montpelier
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Montpelier
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Montpelier
Montpelier Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Montpelier
Barre Street Playground
DirectionsUnion Elementary Playground
DirectionsUnion Elementary Playground
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Peaks in Montpelier
Dewey Hill823 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.7 miUnpaved · 16.9 mi
Barred Owl Boulevard1.2 mi
Fitness Trail0.9 mi
Sparrow Farm Trail0.8 mi
Nature Center Trail0.7 mi
North Branch River Path0.6 mi
Sapsucker0.6 mi
Pileated Pass0.5 mi
State House Trail0.5 mi
Stone Tower Path0.5 mi
Multi-Use Connector0.5 mi
15 more trails
North Branch Trail
0.5 miRoll Call
0.5 miParks Connector
0.5 miTanager Trail
0.4 miSnipe Hill Trail
0.4 miGould Hill Trail
0.4 miSwallowtail Trail
0.3 miPond-Tower Trail
0.3 miStreamside
0.3 miHermit Thrush Hill
0.3 miDowny
0.3 miNature Area Trails
0.2 miGrouse Grind
0.2 miHemlock Hill Trail
0.2 miBoundary Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
5Baseball
3Soccer
1Football
1Skate park
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Montpelier: 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) | 27 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Montpelier →
Next door
Montpelier and its neighbors
Montpelier has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montpelier | 8% | 2.5 | 65 | 69% | A |
| Berlin | 13% | 0.4 | 374 | 30% | B+ |
| East Montpelier | 23% | 0.5 | 48 | 9% | B+ |
| Middlesex | 18% | 0.4 | 630 | under 1% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montpelier
Where can I hike in Montpelier?
The longest trail networks: Hubbard Park, 8 miles; North Branch River Park, 6.6 miles; North Branch Nature Center, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montpelier is conserved land?
8% 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 Montpelier’s trails?
Hubbard Park and North Branch River Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Montpelier?
7.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of painted or protected lanes and 3.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Montpelier?
26,660 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montpelier or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 585 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Montpelier have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #10 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Montpelier 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 →