Photo: Kritzolina · CC BY-SA 4.0Few parks or trails are on the map in Highland Lakes
31% of Highland Lakes’ land is conserved, about 850 acres. 465 acres are parks and preserves, 121 per 1,000 residents. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Highland Lakes, 0.7 per square mile of land.
What kind of outdoors town is Highland Lakes?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
850 conserved acres
31% of Highland Lakes’ land. Water is left out: Highland Lakes has 4.3 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Highland Lakes’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 393 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wawayanda State Park State Park | State natural resources | 774 | Open |
17 places to go in Highland Lakes
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
4 named trails and 6 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.
The best walking months in Highland Lakes: May and July 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 45 | 58 | 68 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Highland Lakes →
Questions about parks and trails in Highland Lakes
Is there public land near Highland Lakes?
64,692 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Highland Lakes or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 465 of them inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Highland Lakes 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 →