Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail
Park
5 acres0.4 mi of trail
Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:N-Lange.de · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ballston Spa
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Ballston Spa
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Ballston Spa, 0.5 per square mile of land. 2% of Ballston Spa’s land is conserved, about 25 acres.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #340 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
25 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
58 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Ballston Spa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ballston Spa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ballston Spa is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #340 of 758 in New York. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ballston Spa’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (58 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 55%
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 Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ballston Area Recreation Commission
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
25 conserved acres
2% of Ballston Spa’s land. Who manages Ballston Spa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city36 ac
Regional agency4 ac
Local Park · 36 acLocal Other or Unknown · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Of Ballston Spa Land Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Unknown |
| Kelley Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Ballston Spa School Dist Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 4 | Unknown |
| Old Iron Spring Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Ballston Spa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ballston Spa
Ballston Spa Village Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ballston Spa
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ballston Spa
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Ballston Spa
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Ballston Spa: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 57 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ballston Spa →
Questions about parks and trails in Ballston Spa
Where can I hike in Ballston Spa?
The longest trail networks: Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ballston Spa is conserved land?
2% 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 Ballston Spa’s trails?
Jim Tedisco Fitness Trail and Ballston Area Recreation Commission don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ballston Spa?
9,681 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ballston Spa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 58 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ballston Spa have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #340 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 Ballston Spa 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 →