Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Wells has 73 acres of parks, 63 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Wells’ land is conserved, about 850 acres. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Wells, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Wells have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wells is ahead of 63% 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 Wells’ 6% is ahead of 15% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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.
850 conserved acres
6% of Wells’ land. Who manages Wells’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 787 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 22 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 61 | Unknown |
| Lake St. Catherine Access State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
| Little Pond Dam State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
12 places to go in Wells
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 more peaks
6 named trails and 1 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Wells: 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wells →
Wells 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells | 6% | 0.5 | 63 | 26% | B |
| Pawlet | 22% | 0.8 | 957 | 12% | A− |
| Poultney | 8% | 0.5 | 187 | 44% | A− |
| Middletown Springs | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Tinmouth | — 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 Wells
How much of Wells is conserved land?
6% 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 Wells’ trails?
Wells Lakeside Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Wells?
15,161 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wells or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 253 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wells have?
Ahead of 63% 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 Wells 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 →