Moosalamoo National Recreation Area
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,822 acres15.3 mi of trail
Rattlesnake Cliff TrailKeewaydin TrailUpper Cliff Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Salisbury
37% of Salisbury’s land is conserved: 6,877 acres
67 acres are parks and preserves, 56 per 1,000 residents. 25 miles of mapped trail cross Salisbury, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Moosalamoo National Recreation Area (15.3 mi).
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
6,877 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
67 ac
56 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,589 ft
Mount Moosalamoo
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Salisbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salisbury is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Salisbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land56 acres of park per 1,000 residents (67 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 75%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Salisbury’s 37% is ahead of 96% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% 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 Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, with 15.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,822 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Salisbury Fish Culture Section
Nature preserve
138 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
6,877 conserved acres
37% of Salisbury’s land. Who manages Salisbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,060 ac
U.S. Forest Service3,821 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,703 ac
State conservation343 ac
Not recorded165 ac
Agricultural Easement · 4,040 acNational Forest · 3,821 acConservation Easement · 3,066 acState Other or Unknown · 69 acState Park · 66 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,891 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 43 of 102 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Mountain National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,821 | Open |
| Salisbury Fish Culture Station State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 68 | Open |
| Branbury State Park State Park | Not recorded | 66 | Open |
| New England Forestry Foundation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| Magoon Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Salisbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Salisbury
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Salisbury
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Salisbury
Magoon Boat Ramp
DirectionsWaterfalls in Salisbury
Falls of LanaIn Moosalamoo National Recreation Area
DirectionsScenic views in Salisbury
Rattlesnake Point
DirectionsPlus 5 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Salisbury
Mount Moosalamoo2,589 ft elevation · In Moosalamoo National Recreation Area
DirectionsBryant Mountain1,086 ft elevation · In Moosalamoo National Recreation Area
DirectionsSunset Hill909 ft elevation
DirectionsDyer Hill604 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Salisbury
Falls of Lana picnic areaIn Moosalamoo National Recreation Area · USFS
DirectionsLake Dunmore KampersvilleFee
DirectionsWaterhouse's Campground & Marina
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.7 miUnpaved · 10.8 mi
Rattlesnake Cliff Trail1.7 mi
Keewaydin Trail1.4 mi
Lower Cliff Trail0.5 mi
Nature Trail0.3 mi
Upper Cliff Trail0.2 mi
Pidgeon Road East0.1 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.
MTB MoosalamooBike route
1.4 miCourts & fields
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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 Salisbury: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Salisbury →
Next door
Salisbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | 37% | 0.9 | 56 | 4% | A− |
| Cornwall | 22% | 0.6 | 1,455 | 23% | A− |
| Whiting | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ripton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Leicester | 30% | 0.9 | 108 | 15% | A− |
| Middlebury | 28% | 2.0 | 40 | 72% | A |
| Goshen | — 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 Salisbury
Where can I hike in Salisbury?
The longest trail networks: Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, 15.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salisbury is conserved land?
37% 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 Salisbury’s trails?
Moosalamoo National Recreation Area 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 Salisbury?
60,157 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salisbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 136 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
Ahead of 75% 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 Salisbury 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 →