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Sheldon, Vermont (8270391887)Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sheldon

19% of Sheldon’s land is conserved: 4,631 acres

2.2 miles of mapped trail cross Sheldon, 0.1 per square mile of land.

Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
19%
4,631 acres · of 38.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Highest peak
1,234 ft
Leach Hill
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is Sheldon?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild19% of the land is conserved; a typical Vermont town, 14%.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Sheldon have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sheldon is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sheldon’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 19%
LessMore

Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Sheldon’s 19% is ahead of 66% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 0% of them.

NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Sheldon. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. 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
Who protects it

4,631 conserved acres

19% of Sheldon’s land. Who manages Sheldon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits8,666 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,511 ac
State fish & wildlife257 ac
State conservation44 ac
Not recorded85 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,777 acConservation Easement · 4,573 acUnknown Easement · 129 acLocal Resource Management Area · 85 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,546 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 63 of 150 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Sheldon School Forest
Local Resource Management Area
Not recorded85Unknown
Things to do

4 places to go in Sheldon

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Sheldon
Leach Hill1,234 ft elevation
Directions
Sheldon Hill889 ft elevation
Directions
Trails & water

1 lakes & rivers

Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Missisquoi River
Biking & sports

14 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Bridge 9Structure · listed 2007
About it
Bridge Number VT105-10Structure · listed 2018
About it
H.H. Mower General StoreBuilding · listed 2025
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Sheldon: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.110.411.813.414.815.615.314.112.510.99.58.8
High (°F)262938536675797770574432
Rain (in)2.72.22.73.53.94.44.54.34.24.33.33.2

February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Sheldon →

Next door

Sheldon and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Swanton17 miHighgate12 miFairfield7.8 miEnosburgh4.2 miSheldon2.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Sheldon19%0.1under 1under 1%C−
Enosburgh14%0.14138%B
Fairfield22%0.147216%B
Highgate27%0.212913%B+
Swanton40%0.410935%A−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Sheldon

How much of Sheldon is conserved land?

19% 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.

Where can I bike in Sheldon?

14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Sheldon?

6,062 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sheldon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Sheldon have?

Ahead of 19% 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 Sheldon neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →