Charles Downer State Forest
Nature preserve
732 acres5 mi of trail
State Forest HighwayAcross the Pond TrailNature TrailHillside Pop: 60+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bridge 15 · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sharon
Sharon has 736 acres of parks, 467 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Sharon’s land is conserved, about 5,251 acres. The biggest trail networks: Charles Downer State Forest (5 mi), My Walden (4 mi). 29 miles of mapped trail cross Sharon, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
5,251 acres · of 39.8 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
736 ac
467 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,588 ft
Quimby Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sharon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sharon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sharon is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. 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 Sharon’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land467 acres of park per 1,000 residents (736 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home20% 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 conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Sharon’s 21% is ahead of 75% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% 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 Charles Downer State Forest, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
My Walden
Managed by Upper Valley Land Trust
236 acres4 mi of trail
Crescent Lake TrailStump DumpLady Slipper PathCabin Connector+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
White River Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
572 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ashley Community Forest
Nature preserve
145 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,251 conserved acres
21% of Sharon’s land. Who manages Sharon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits6,394 ac
Other state land496 ac
State conservation458 ac
Joint2 ac
Not recorded1,504 ac
Conservation Easement · 4,184 acAgricultural Easement · 1,815 acUnknown Easement · 1,312 acState Resource Management Area · 727 acState Conservation Area · 634 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,708 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 16 of 98 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downer State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 727 | Open |
| White River Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 634 | Open |
| Minister's Lot Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 77 | Unknown |
| Upper Valley Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 67 | Open |
| White River Ledges Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 38 | Closed |
Things to do
11 places to go in Sharon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sharon
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Sharon
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Sharon
C.C.C. Pond Access AreaIn Charles Downer State Forest
DirectionsPeaks in Sharon
Quimby Mountain1,588 ft elevation
DirectionsHowe Hill1,581 ft elevation
DirectionsTyler Mountain1,467 ft elevation
DirectionsBoyds Hill1,463 ft elevation
DirectionsBillings Hill1,227 ft elevation
DirectionsBaxter Mountain1,161 ft elevation
DirectionsPatriarch Hill
DirectionsCampgrounds in Sharon
Camp DownerIn Charles Downer State Forest · Camp Downer
DirectionsTrails & water
16 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.5 miUnpaved · 7.2 mi
State Forest Highway4.2 mi
Town Highway 221.4 mi
Crescent Lake Trail0.7 mi
LT40.6 mi
Across the Pond Trail0.4 mi
Stump Dump0.3 mi
Th370.3 mi
Lady Slipper Path0.3 mi
Cabin Connector0.2 mi
Back 40 Trail0.2 mi
6 more trails
Nature Trail
0.1 miRikert Trail (closed)
0.1 miHillside Pop: 60
0.1 miPelting Pony Trail
0.1 miCampfire Trail
0.1 miHillside Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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
2Basketball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place 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.
Bridge 15Structure · listed 2008
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sharon: 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) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Sharon →
Next door
Sharon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon | 21% | 0.7 | 467 | 20% | A− |
| Pomfret | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Strafford | 20% | 0.6 | 1,108 | 11% | A− |
| Royalton | 5% | 0.2 | 88 | 22% | B− |
| Norwich | 19% | 2.2 | 119 | 40% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sharon
Where can I hike in Sharon?
The longest trail networks: Charles Downer State Forest, 5 miles; My Walden, 4 miles; White River Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sharon is conserved land?
21% 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 Sharon’s trails?
Charles Downer State Forest and My Walden don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sharon?
21,700 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sharon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,963 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sharon have?
Ahead of 81% 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 Sharon 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 →