Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
1,324 acres9.3 mi of trail
Ridgeline TrailJamie Latham TrailHolden TrailTownline Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Putneypics · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Westminster
Westminster has 297 acres of parks, 99 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Westminster’s land is conserved, about 3,859 acres. The biggest trail networks: Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve (9.3 mi), Stephen Martin Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary (1 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #47 of 71 in Vermont. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,859 acres · of 45.0 sq mi of land
Trails
26 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
297 ac
99 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,637 ft
Windmill Mountain
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Westminster?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Westminster have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Westminster is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #47 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Westminster’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% 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 land99 acres of park per 1,000 residents (297 acres) · VT 97 · U.S. 13AParks close to home11% of residents within a half mile of a park · VT 38% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 70%
LessMore
Vermont towns of 2,500+ (71)Ahead of 34%
Vermont towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Westminster’s 13% is ahead of 44% of Vermont towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% 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 Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve, with 9.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stephen Martin Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary
Nature preserve
68 acres1 mi of trail
Dunn Nature Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
3,859 conserved acres
13% of Westminster’s land. Who manages Westminster’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits5,786 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)117 ac
Not recorded397 ac
Conservation Easement · 3,676 acAgricultural Easement · 1,901 acLocal Resource Management Area · 360 acUnknown Easement · 325 acState Other or Unknown · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,462 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 35 of 114 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster Town Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 226 | Unknown |
| Bellows Falls Union High School Forest Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 134 | Unknown |
| East Putney Brook State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 37 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Westminster
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Westminster
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Westminster
Windmill Mountain1,637 ft elevation · In Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve
DirectionsBemis Hill1,601 ft elevation
DirectionsHartley Hill1,453 ft elevation
DirectionsRocky Ridge1,198 ft elevation
DirectionsHickory Ridge1,184 ft elevation
DirectionsHedgehog Hill1,145 ft elevation
DirectionsWellington Hill1,027 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Hill738 ft elevation
Directions1 more peak
Kurn Hattin Hill482 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
14 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Ridgeline Trail2.1 mi
Jamie Latham Trail1.7 mi
Holden Trail1.3 mi
Hemlock Trail1.2 mi
Dunn Nature Trail1.0 mi
Townline Trail1.0 mi
Cascade Trail0.9 mi
Headwaters Trail0.7 mi
Ed Dodd Trail0.5 mi
Bemis Hill Trail0.2 mi
4 more trails
Wellington Hill Road West
0.2 miDeer Run
0.2 miSaxtons River Valley Trail
0.2 miRadford-Smith Trail
0.2 miLakes & 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
6Tennis
6Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Volleyball
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Westminster Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Westminster: 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 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Westminster →
Next door
Westminster and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Westmoreland53 miPutney30 miWalpole30 miWestminster26 miBrookline10 miAthens8.5 miRockingham8.4 miBellows Falls0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westminster | 13% | 0.6 | 99 | 11% | B+ |
| Rockingham | 11% | 0.2 | 63 | 71% | B+ |
| Putney | 8% | 1.1 | 29 | 16% | B+ |
| Athens | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bellows Falls | 15% | 0.5 | 22 | 95% | A |
| Brookline | — 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 Westminster
Where can I hike in Westminster?
The longest trail networks: Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve, 9.3 miles; Stephen Martin Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Westminster is conserved land?
13% 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 Westminster’s trails?
Windmill Ridge Nature Reserve and Stephen Martin Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Westminster?
17,409 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Westminster or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 352 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Westminster have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #47 of 71 in Vermont. 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 Westminster 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 →