L.R. Jones State Forest
Nature preserve
617 acres1.3 mi of trail
Spruce Mountain Trail
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Plainfield
Plainfield has 670 acres of parks, 510 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Plainfield’s land is conserved, about 1,730 acres. The biggest trail networks: L.R. Jones State Forest (1.3 mi), Groton State Forest (0.5 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,730 acres · of 21.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
670 ac
510 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
2,959 ft
Spruce Mountain
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Plainfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plainfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plainfield is ahead of 71% 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 Plainfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land510 acres of park per 1,000 residents (670 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 71%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Plainfield’s 13% is ahead of 44% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 4% 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 L.R. Jones State Forest, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Groton State Forest
Nature preserve
343 acres0.5 mi of trail
Spruce Mountain Trail
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,730 conserved acres
13% of Plainfield’s land. Who manages Plainfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,373 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)127 ac
State conservation32 ac
Town or city4 ac
Not recorded1,018 ac
State Resource Management Area · 974 acConservation Easement · 708 acAgricultural Easement · 671 acUnknown Easement · 153 acLocal Resource Management Area · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 708 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 15 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| L.R. Jones State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 635 | Open |
| Groton State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 340 | Open |
| Plainfield Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 37 | Unknown |
| Pratt Conservation Easement Private Conservation | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Town of Plainfield Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Plainfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Plainfield
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Plainfield
Spruce Mountain2,959 ft elevation · In Groton State Forest
DirectionsColby Hill2,267 ft elevation
DirectionsMaple Hill1,581 ft elevation
DirectionsBartlett Hill1,339 ft elevation
DirectionsGallup Hill1,263 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
Spruce Mountain Trail2.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tennis
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
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 Plainfield: May, August 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) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
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 Plainfield →
Next door
Plainfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield | 13% | 0.2 | 510 | 45% | B+ |
| Marshfield | 30% | 0.4 | 32 | 15% | B+ |
| Groton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| East Montpelier | 23% | 0.5 | 48 | 9% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plainfield
Where can I hike in Plainfield?
The longest trail networks: L.R. Jones State Forest, 1.3 miles; Groton State Forest, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plainfield is conserved land?
13% 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 Plainfield’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at L.R. Jones State Forest and Groton State Forest. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Plainfield?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Plainfield?
42,456 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plainfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,038 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Plainfield have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Plainfield 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 →