Townshend State Forest
Nature preserve
1,250 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: VTviking · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Townshend
Townshend has 1,260 acres of parks, 819 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Townshend’s land is conserved, about 4,051 acres. The biggest trail networks: Townshend State Forest (3.2 mi). 8% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
4,051 acres · of 42.3 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,260 ac
819 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,988 ft
Acton Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Townshend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Townshend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Townshend is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. 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 Townshend’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical VT town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (26 mi) · VT 0.6 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land819 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,260 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home8% 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 74%
LessMore
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Townshend’s 15% is ahead of 52% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% 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 Townshend State Forest, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
4,051 conserved acres
15% of Townshend’s land. Who manages Townshend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,272 ac
Army Corps of Engineers939 ac
State parks718 ac
State fish & wildlife5 ac
Not recorded1,253 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,869 acState Resource Management Area · 1,248 acRecreation Management Area · 939 acAgricultural Easement · 729 acUnknown Easement · 397 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,859 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 91 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Townshend State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,248 | Open |
| Townshend Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 939 | Open |
| Turner Hill Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Townshend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Townshend
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Townshend
Acton Hill1,988 ft elevation
DirectionsCrane Mountain1,686 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Mountain1,667 ft elevation · In Townshend State Forest
DirectionsOber Hill1,617 ft elevation
DirectionsRattlesnake Mountain1,522 ft elevation
DirectionsPeaked Mountain1,188 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Townshend
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.6 miUnpaved · 6.0 mi
Ledges overlook trail1.4 mi
Jordan Hill Road East0.4 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
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places 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.
Scott Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itFollett Stone Arch Bridge Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1976
About itSimpsonville Stone Arch BridgeStructure · listed 1977
About itWest Townshend Stone Arch BridgeStructure · listed 1977
About itWheelock HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itWest Townshend Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986
About itTownshend State ParkDistrict · listed 2002
About itFirst Congregational Church and MeetinghouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Townshend: May to 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Townshend →
Next door
Townshend and its neighbors
Townshend has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townshend | 15% | 0.6 | 819 | 8% | B+ |
| Wardsboro | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Windham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grafton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Athens | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Newfane | 7% | 0.1 | 283 | 28% | B− |
| Jamaica | — 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 Townshend
Where can I hike in Townshend?
The longest trail networks: Townshend State Forest, 3.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Townshend is conserved land?
15% 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 Townshend’s trails?
Townshend State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Townshend?
34,294 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Townshend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,368 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Townshend have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Townshend 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 →