Photo: The original uploader was Mickmaguire at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.016% of Waitsfield’s land is conserved: 2,662 acres
20 miles of mapped trail cross Waitsfield, 0.8 per square mile of land. 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 24 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Waitsfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Waitsfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waitsfield is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds 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 Waitsfield’s 16% is ahead of 59% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
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.
2,662 conserved acres
16% of Waitsfield’s land. Who manages Waitsfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,996 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 30 of 92 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camels Hump State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 547 | Open |
| Vermont Land Trust Private Conservation | Not recorded | 98 | Closed |
| Town of Waitsfield Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Mad River Park Local Park | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
9 places to go in Waitsfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
15 named trails
5 more trails
1.3 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.
7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Waitsfield: 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 53 | 67 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Waitsfield →
Waitsfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waitsfield | 16% | 0.8 | 13 | 18% | B |
| Northfield | 5% | 0.5 | 117 | 68% | A− |
| Fayston | 27% | 1.2 | 110 | 2% | A− |
| Moretown | 11% | 0.2 | 10 | 36% | B− |
| Warren | 36% | 1.0 | 116 | 11% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waitsfield
How much of Waitsfield is conserved land?
16% 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 Waitsfield’s trails?
Mad River Green doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waitsfield?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waitsfield?
56,739 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waitsfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,345 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waitsfield have?
Ahead of 62% 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 Waitsfield 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 →