Jay State Forest
Nature preserve
2,298 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Mfwills · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Richford
23% of Richford’s land is conserved: 6,251 acres
315 acres are parks and preserves, 128 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Jay State Forest (1.2 mi). 8.3 miles of mapped trail cross Richford, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
6,251 acres · of 42.9 sq mi of land
Trails
8.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
315 ac
128 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,161 ft
Hardwood Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Richford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Richford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richford is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richford’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land128 acres of park per 1,000 residents (315 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% 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 76%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Richford’s 23% is ahead of 82% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% 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 Jay State Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bear's Nest Wilderness Preserve
Managed by Northeast Wilderness Trust
2,581 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Richford Town Forest
Nature preserve
145 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6,251 conserved acres
23% of Richford’s land. Who manages Richford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits6,845 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)216 ac
State parks154 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government45 ac
Not recorded2,897 ac
Private Conservation · 5,526 acConservation Easement · 3,311 acAgricultural Easement · 1,059 acLocal Resource Management Area · 143 acUnknown Easement · 112 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,303 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 23 of 73 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 | 5,526 | Closed |
| Richford Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 143 | Unknown |
| Jay State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Richford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Richford
Hardwood Hill1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Downtown Richford Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980
About itSheldon Boright HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itMissisquoi River BridgeStructure · listed 1990
About itSt. Ann's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2001
About itF.W. Wheeler HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itRichford Primary SchoolBuilding · listed 2004
About itSweat-Comings Company HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itU.S. Inspection Station-East Richford, VermontBuilding · listed 2014
About itU.S. Inspection Station-Richford, VermontBuilding · listed 2014
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Richford: 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 26 | 35 | 49 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 66 | 53 | 40 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 5.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Richford →
Next door
Richford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richford | 23% | 0.2 | 128 | 56% | A− |
| Jay | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Berkshire | 9% | 0.2 | 142 | 11% | B− |
| Montgomery | 30% | 0.1 | 278 | 5% | B |
| Enosburgh | 14% | 0.1 | 41 | 38% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Richford
Where can I hike in Richford?
The longest trail networks: Jay State Forest, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Richford is conserved land?
23% 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 Richford’s trails?
Jay State Forest and Bear's Nest Wilderness Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Richford?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Richford?
21,174 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,523 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Richford have?
Ahead of 76% 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 Richford 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 →