High Pond Natural Area
Nature preserve
1,686 acres3.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Cooley Covered Bridge · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pittsford
Pittsford has 2,258 acres of parks, 781 for every 1,000 residents
19% of Pittsford’s land is conserved, about 5,314 acres. The biggest trail networks: High Pond Natural Area (3.4 mi). 21 miles of mapped trail cross Pittsford, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #29 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
5,314 acres · of 43.3 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,258 ac
781 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,972 ft
Biddie Knob
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Pittsford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pittsford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pittsford is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #29 of 71 in Vermont. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsford’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4BPark land781 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,258 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home38% 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 81%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 60%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Pittsford’s 19% is ahead of 69% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% 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 High Pond Natural Area, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Proctor Town Forest
Managed by Town of Proctor
158 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pittsford Recreation Area
Park
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
5,314 conserved acres
19% of Pittsford’s land. Who manages Pittsford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,259 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,465 ac
Other state land410 ac
Not recorded2,225 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,629 acPrivate Conservation · 3,103 acAgricultural Easement · 1,354 acUnknown Easement · 613 acState Conservation Area · 439 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,920 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 29 of 85 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Pond Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1,277 | Open |
| High Pond Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,247 | Closed |
| Sugar Hollow Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 291 | Closed |
| Sugar Hollow Natural Area Private Conservation | Not recorded | 287 | Open |
| Whipple Hollow Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 286 | Open |
| Proctor Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 160 | Unknown |
| Pomainville Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 153 | Open |
| Pittsford Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 60 | Unknown |
| Pittsford Historical Society, Pittsford Ice Caves Conservation Easement | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Unknown |
| The Nature Conservancy Restriction Conservation Easement | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Pittsford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Pittsford
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Pittsford
1 playground without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Pittsford
Peaks in Pittsford
Biddie Knob1,972 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Peak1,788 ft elevation
DirectionsLong Hill1,788 ft elevation
DirectionsBlueberry Hill1,677 ft elevation
DirectionsCox Mountain1,453 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Pittsford Trails0.7 mi
Cave Trail0.4 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
4Pickleball
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Depot Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itHammond Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itCooley Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1974
About itThomas H. Palmer HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itPittsford Green Historic DistrictBuilding · listed 1982
About itColburn BridgeStructure · listed 1990
About itFort Vengeance Monument SiteSite · listed 2006
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Pittsford: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Pittsford →
Next door
Pittsford and its neighbors
Pittsford has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsford | 19% | 0.5 | 781 | 38% | A− |
| Proctor | 16% | 0.8 | 117 | 20% | A− |
| Brandon | 13% | 0.4 | 197 | 46% | A− |
| Hubbardton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chittenden | 73% | 1.1 | 1,815 | 30% | A |
| West Rutland | 14% | 0.5 | 297 | 18% | B+ |
| Rutland | 3% | 0.7 | 87 | 32% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pittsford
Where can I hike in Pittsford?
The longest trail networks: High Pond Natural Area, 3.4 miles; Pittsford Recreation Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pittsford is conserved land?
19% 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 Pittsford’s trails?
High Pond Natural Area and Proctor Town Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Pittsford?
93,720 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pittsford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,679 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pittsford have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 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 Pittsford 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 →