Okemo State Forest
Nature preserve
3,594 acres11.3 mi of trail
Healdville TrailMoose Trek TrailBear Climb
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Jared C. Benedict. (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Mount Holly
30% of Mount Holly’s land is conserved: 9,293 acres
173 acres are parks and preserves, 123 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Okemo State Forest (11.3 mi), Green Mountain National Forest (1.5 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
9,293 acres · of 49.1 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
173 ac
123 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
3,320 ft
Ludlow Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Holly?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mount Holly have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Holly is ahead of 70% 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 Mount Holly’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 (21 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land123 acres of park per 1,000 residents (173 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home4% 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 70%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Mount Holly’s 30% is ahead of 92% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 31% 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 Okemo State Forest, with 11.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,116 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area
Managed by United States Forest Service
939 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Star Lake Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
92 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Okemo State Forest3,594 acres · 11.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGreen Mountain National Forest3,116 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area939 acres · United States Forest Service
Star Lake Wildlife Management Area92 acres
Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area49 acres
Who protects it
9,293 conserved acres
30% of Mount Holly’s land. Who manages Mount Holly’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service3,115 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,941 ac
State parks1,745 ac
Other state land1,661 ac
Not recorded3,491 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,324 acNational Forest · 3,115 acConservation Easement · 2,665 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,636 acUnknown Easement · 573 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,687 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 56 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okemo State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 3,324 | Open |
| Green Mountain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,115 | Open |
| Star Lake Wetlands (Wildlife Management Area) State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 92 | Open |
| Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 75 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Mount Holly
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Mount Holly
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Mount Holly
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Mount Holly
Ludlow Mountain3,320 ft elevation · In Okemo State Forest
DirectionsSouth Mountain3,176 ft elevation · In Okemo State Forest
DirectionsSawyer Rocks2,352 ft elevation
DirectionsTiny Mountain2,306 ft elevation · In Tiny Pond Wildlife Management Area
DirectionsHedgehog Hill2,283 ft elevation
DirectionsProctor Hill2,185 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Holly1,988 ft elevation
DirectionsHammond Hill1,703 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Roger Hill1,604 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miHorses · 2.2 miUnpaved · 4.8 mi
Catamount Trail3.6 mi
Healdville Trail2.9 mi
Moose Trek Trail1.3 mi
Yale Road North0.7 mi
Town Highway 200.5 mi
Town Highway 170.4 mi
Yale Road South0.4 mi
Bear Climb0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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 Mount Holly: May to 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 39 | 52 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Mount Holly →
Next door
Mount Holly 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Holly | 30% | 0.4 | 123 | 4% | B+ |
| Wallingford | 34% | 0.9 | 23 | 25% | A− |
| Ludlow | 14% | 0.8 | 368 | 41% | A− |
| Shrewsbury | 37% | 1.0 | 2,604 | 29% | A |
| Weston | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Plymouth | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mount Tabor | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mount Holly
Where can I hike in Mount Holly?
The longest trail networks: Okemo State Forest, 11.3 miles; Green Mountain National Forest, 1.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Holly 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 Mount Holly’s trails?
Okemo State Forest and Green Mountain National Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mount Holly?
68,083 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Holly or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,967 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mount Holly have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Mount Holly 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 →