Melondy Hill State Forest
Nature preserve
3,639 acres2.5 mi of trail
State Forest Truck Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Afton
Afton has 3,959 acres of parks, 1,449 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Afton’s land is conserved, about 3,876 acres. The biggest trail networks: Melondy Hill State Forest (2.5 mi). 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Afton, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #389 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,876 acres · of 46.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,959 ac
1,449 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,040 ft
Chenango County High Point
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Afton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Afton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Afton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #389 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Afton’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land1,449 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,959 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 49%
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 Melondy Hill State Forest, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oak Ridge State Forest
Nature preserve
214 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Susquehanna River Boat Launch
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,876 conserved acres
13% of Afton’s land. Who manages Afton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation3,874 ac
Town or city2 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,869 acState Recreation Area · 5 acLocal Park · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melondy Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 3,661 | Open |
| Oak Ridge State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 209 | Open |
| Susquehanna River Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State conservation | 5 | Open |
| Afton Village Land Land Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Afton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Afton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Afton
Afton Public River Access
DirectionsPeaks in Afton
Chenango County High Point2,040 ft elevation · In Melondy Hill State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
State Forest Truck Trail2.5 mi
Lakes & 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
4Baseball
2Tennis
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).
Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Afton: May, July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Afton →
Next door
Afton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afton | 13% | 0.1 | 1,449 | 44% | B+ |
| Bainbridge | 2% | 0.2 | 149 | 52% | B |
| Colesville | 2% | 0.1 | 257 | 16% | C+ |
| Coventry | 11% | under 0.1 | 2,539 | 41% | B |
| Sanford | 11% | 0.1 | 2,746 | 49% | B+ |
| Masonville | 23% | 0.4 | 6,511 | 36% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Afton
Where can I hike in Afton?
The longest trail networks: Melondy Hill State Forest, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Afton is conserved land?
13% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Afton’s trails?
Melondy Hill State Forest and Oak Ridge State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Afton?
32,056 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Afton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,959 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Afton have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #389 of 758 in New York. 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 Afton 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 →