Lake Superior State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,381 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Marc Holstein · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Bethel
Bethel has 1,640 acres of parks, 405 for every 1,000 residents
27% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Bethel’s land is conserved, about 2,371 acres. 27 miles of mapped trail cross Bethel, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #433 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
2,371 acres · of 85.3 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,640 ac
405 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,427 ft
Greens Hill
Lakes & rivers
25
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Bethel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethel is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #433 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bethel’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land405 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,640 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home27% 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 61%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 43%
Water is 5% of Bethel’s area (5 of 90 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Forest Reserve at Smallwood
Park
160 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Town of Bethel Dog Park
Managed by Town of Bethel
1 acres
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,371 conserved acres
4% of Bethel’s land. Water is left out: Bethel has 85.3 square miles of land and 4.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bethel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,396 ac
State conservation505 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits241 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)171 ac
Town or city41 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government35 ac
Other state land2 ac
State Park · 1,396 acConservation Easement · 676 acUnknown Easement · 241 acLocal Park · 76 acState Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 908 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Superior State Park State Park | State parks | 1,396 | Open |
| Town of Bethel Land Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Unknown |
| Bethel Town Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| New York State Lands State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 2 | Open |
| Jeffersonville Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Bethel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bethel
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Bethel
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Bethel
Greens Hill1,427 ft elevation
DirectionsRound Top1,345 ft elevation · In Forest Reserve at Smallwood
DirectionsPlus 4 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Bethel
White Lake Covenanter CampReformed Presbyterian Church of North America
DirectionsTrails & water
25 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Amber LakeBishops PondBlack LakelakeBriscoe Lake (aka Segur Pond)lakeChestnut Ridge PondCrystal LakelakeFilippini PondlakeHorseshoe LakeHunter LakelakeIndian Field PondlakeKilcoin PondLake NianqueLake SuperiorLittle Black LakeLynchs PondMallory PondMeyers PondMud PondSicans PondSilver LakeSwinging Bridge ReservoirreservoirToronto LakeWhite LakelakeWoods PondMongaup River
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
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Bethel: 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 44 | 58 | 69 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
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 Bethel →
Next door
Bethel and its neighbors
Bethel has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Thompson35 miBethel27 miLiberty14 miDelaware12 miHighland11 miCallicoon5.5 miCochecton3.5 miMongaup Valley1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel | 4% | 0.3 | 405 | 27% | B |
| Thompson | 4% | 0.4 | 104 | 61% | B+ |
| Liberty | 5% | 0.2 | 132 | 53% | B |
| Callicoon | 3% | 0.1 | 71 | 22% | C+ |
| Cochecton | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 16% | D |
| Highland | 9% | 0.2 | 511 | 16% | B |
| Delaware | under 1% | 0.3 | 13 | 20% | C |
| Mongaup Valley | — 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 Bethel
Where can I hike in Bethel?
The longest trail networks: Forest Reserve at Smallwood, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethel 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 Bethel’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Town of Bethel Dog Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bethel?
21,891 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,642 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethel have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #433 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 Bethel 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 →