Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY-SA 4.0South Hero has 197 acres of parks, 124 for every 1,000 residents
19% of South Hero’s land is conserved, about 1,797 acres. 9.2 miles of mapped trail cross South Hero, 0.6 per square mile of land. 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is South Hero?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does South Hero have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Hero is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so South Hero’s 19% is ahead of 68% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
Water is more than half of South Hero’s area (32 of 46 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
1,797 conserved acres
19% of South Hero’s land. Water is left out: South Hero has 14.9 square miles of land and 31.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages South Hero’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,592 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 29 of 87 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round Pond Natural Area State Park State Park | Not recorded | 125 | Open |
| South Hero Marsh Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 62 | Open |
| Allen Point Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Open |
| John Guilmette Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Keeler Bay Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in South Hero
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 named trails
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in South Hero: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 58 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in South Hero →
South Hero 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Hero | 19% | 0.6 | 124 | 29% | A− |
| Milton | 14% | 0.5 | 210 | 30% | A− |
| Colchester | 14% | 1.6 | 74 | 46% | A |
| Grand Isle | 9% | 0.3 | 94 | 24% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Hero
How much of South Hero 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.
Are dogs allowed on South Hero’s trails?
Causeway Park and White's Beach don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Hero?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Hero?
12,411 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Hero or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 219 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Hero have?
Ahead of 78% 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 South Hero neighbors.
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 →