Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.012% of Waterford’s land is conserved: 2,949 acres
6.2 miles of mapped trail cross Waterford, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 21% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Waterford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Waterford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterford is ahead of 21% 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 Waterford’s 12% is ahead of 41% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 1% 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.
2,949 conserved acres
12% of Waterford’s land. Who manages Waterford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,169 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 29 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Johnsbury Watershed Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 781 | Unknown |
9 places to go in Waterford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
0.0 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.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
September is the best month for walking in Waterford
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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Waterford →
Waterford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterford | 12% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Concord | 11% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Barnet | 16% | 0.2 | 754 | 11% | B+ |
| St. Johnsbury | 3% | 0.3 | 32 | 61% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Waterford
How much of Waterford is conserved land?
12% 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.
Is there public land near Waterford?
21,520 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waterford have?
Ahead of 21% 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 Waterford 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 →