Green Mountain National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
1,343 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Shaftsbury
Shaftsbury has 246 acres of parks, 68 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Shaftsbury’s land is conserved, about 3,416 acres. The biggest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest (1.1 mi), Lake Shaftsbury State Park (1.1 mi), Glastenbury Wilderness (0.8 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #58 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
3,416 acres · of 43.0 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
246 ac
68 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,402 ft
West Mountain
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Shaftsbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shaftsbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shaftsbury is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #58 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Shaftsbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land68 acres of park per 1,000 residents (246 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home22% 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 65%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 19%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Shaftsbury’s 12% is ahead of 41% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 19% 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 Green Mountain National Forest, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Shaftsbury State Park
Park
101 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Glastenbury Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
485 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Chestnut Woods State Forest
Nature preserve
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,416 conserved acres
12% of Shaftsbury’s land. Who manages Shaftsbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,796 ac
U.S. Forest Service1,342 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)653 ac
State conservation165 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government151 ac
Not recorded508 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,743 acConservation Easement · 1,549 acNational Forest · 1,342 acUnknown Easement · 461 acLocal Other or Unknown · 273 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,554 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 19 of 67 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 | 1,342 | Open |
| North Bennington Water Department Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 273 | Unknown |
| Shaftsbury State Park State Park | Not recorded | 105 | Open |
| Howard Park Local Park | Not recorded | 65 | Unknown |
| Shaftsbury Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 49 | Unknown |
| Bennington Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 16 | Unknown |
| Chestnut Woods State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 12 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Shaftsbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Shaftsbury
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Shaftsbury
1 playground without a name on the map.
Peaks in Shaftsbury
West Mountain2,402 ft elevation
DirectionsMaple Hill1,722 ft elevation
DirectionsTrumbull Mountain1,476 ft elevation
DirectionsHarrington Cobble1,434 ft elevation
DirectionsHale Mountain1,421 ft elevation
DirectionsBucks Cobble1,381 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miUnpaved · 2.1 mi
Robert Frost Trail1.3 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
2Tennis
2Pickleball
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Shaftsbury
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shaftsbury →
Next door
Shaftsbury 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaftsbury | 12% | 0.3 | 68 | 22% | B+ |
| Arlington | 25% | 1.6 | 59 | 24% | A− |
| Bennington | 20% | 1.1 | 43 | 60% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shaftsbury
Where can I hike in Shaftsbury?
The longest trail networks: Green Mountain National Forest, 1.1 miles; Lake Shaftsbury State Park, 1.1 miles; Glastenbury Wilderness, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shaftsbury is conserved land?
12% 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 Shaftsbury’s trails?
Green Mountain National Forest and Lake Shaftsbury State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shaftsbury?
83,670 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shaftsbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,110 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shaftsbury have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #58 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 Shaftsbury 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 →