Albany has 49 miles of mapped trails, 2.3 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 15% of Albany’s land is conserved, about 2,128 acres. The biggest trail networks: Albany Pine Bush Preserve (7.7 mi), Tivoli Nature Preserve (4.1 mi), Washington Park (3.8 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #74 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,128 acres · of 21.4 sq mi of land
Trails
49 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,932 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
22 mi
6.4 mi lanes · 9.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Albany?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Albany is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #74 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Albany’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Albany ranks #35 on Outdoors.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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.
15% of Albany’s land. Who manages Albany’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,226 ac
State conservation625 ac
Other state land422 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits126 ac
State parks2 ac
Regional Water Districts1 ac
Local Park · 1,228 acState Conservation Area · 625 acState Other or Unknown · 403 acPrivate Conservation · 117 acState Resource Management Area · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 60 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Albany Pine Bush Preserve
State Conservation Area
State conservation
715
Open
Capital Hills at Albany
Local Park
Town or city
423
Open
W Averell Harriman New York State Office Building Campus
State Other or Unknown
Other state land
403
Unknown
City of Albany Land
Local Park
Town or city
276
Unknown
Riverfront Preserve
Local Park
Town or city
83
Open
Washington Park
Local Park
Town or city
82
Open
Lincoln Park
Local Park
Town or city
72
Open
Tivoli Park
Local Park
Town or city
67
Open
Six Mile Waterworks Park
Local Park
Town or city
56
Open
Hoffman Park
Local Park
Town or city
34
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
140 places to go in Albany
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
9.2 mi
off-road bike paths
6.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
66Tennis
49Baseball
41Basketball
21Soccer
7Golf
6Football
6Pickleball
4Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
72 places on the National Register, 6 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 80 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Albany: May, August 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
15.3
15.0
13.9
12.4
11.0
9.7
9.1
High (°F)
33
36
45
59
71
79
83
82
74
62
49
38
Rain (in)
2.7
2.4
3.0
3.3
3.5
4.2
4.1
3.9
3.8
4.0
2.9
3.3
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Albany →
Next door
Albany and its neighbors
Albany has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Albany
Where can I hike in Albany?
The longest trail networks: Albany Pine Bush Preserve, 7.7 miles; Tivoli Nature Preserve, 4.1 miles; Washington Park, 3.8 miles; Six Mile Waterworks Park, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Albany is conserved land?
15% 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 Albany’s trails?
Albany Pine Bush Preserve and Tivoli Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Albany?
22 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.4 of painted or protected lanes, 9.2 of off-road paths and 6.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Albany?
20,419 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Albany or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,947 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Albany have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #74 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 Albany neighbors.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0