Taylor Pond Wild Forest
Nature preserve
24 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Alan Prusila · CC BY 2.5C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Au Sable
Au Sable has 25 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 25 acres are parks and preserves, 7.9 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Au Sable’s land is conserved, about 879 acres.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #602 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
879 acres · of 38.9 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
7.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,220 ft
Arnold Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Au Sable?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Au Sable have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Au Sable is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #602 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Au Sable’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home26% 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 43%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 21%
Water is 11% of Au Sable’s area (5 of 44 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Taylor Pond Wild Forest, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
879 conserved acres
4% of Au Sable’s land. Water is left out: Au Sable has 38.9 square miles of land and 4.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Au Sable’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation845 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits69 ac
Forest Stewardship Easement · 816 acPrivate Conservation · 69 acState Conservation Area · 25 acState Resource Management Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 816 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clintonville Pine Barrens Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 69 | Open |
| Taylor Pond Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 25 | Open |
| Ausable Marsh Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 4 | Open |
| Wickham Marsh Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Au Sable
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Au Sable
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Au Sable
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Au Sable
Hemlock Heights Overlook
DirectionsHorseshoe Falls Overlook
DirectionsPulpit Rock Overlook
DirectionsRainbow Falls
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Au Sable
Arnold Hill1,220 ft elevation
DirectionsCook Mountain1,102 ft elevation
DirectionsCold Spring Mountain1,079 ft elevation
DirectionsLily Pond Hill1,066 ft elevation
DirectionsSmith Mountain801 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.5 miUnpaved · 14.9 mi
Corridor 83.1 mi
Ausable Branch1.5 mi
Inner Sanctum Trail0.4 mi
Rim Walk Trail0.4 mi
Corridor 8 new0.4 mi
Dry Chasm Trail0.3 mi
Adventure Trail0.1 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
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Au Sable: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Au Sable →
Next door
Au Sable 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Au Sable | 4% | 0.6 | 8 | 26% | C+ |
| Chesterfield | 20% | 0.8 | 2,354 | 44% | A |
| Peru | 16% | 1.2 | 1,041 | 39% | A |
| Jay | 22% | 0.7 | 1,095 | 40% | A |
| Black Brook | 48% | 1.3 | 17,980 | 53% | A |
| Keeseville | — 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 Au Sable
Where can I hike in Au Sable?
The longest trail networks: Taylor Pond Wild Forest, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Au Sable is conserved land?
4% 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 Au Sable’s trails?
Taylor Pond Wild Forest and Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Au Sable?
37,630 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Au Sable or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Au Sable have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #602 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 Au Sable 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 →