Hartwick State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
661 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
West Burlington Memorial Church · Photo: Agreen54 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Burlington
Burlington has 1,443 acres of parks, 1,374 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Burlington’s land is conserved, about 2,718 acres. 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Burlington, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,718 acres · of 44.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,443 ac
1,374 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,057 ft
Pigeon Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Burlington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Burlington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Burlington is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. 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 Burlington’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% 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 land1,374 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,443 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home16% 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 55%
LessMore
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Basswood Pond State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
641 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Plainfield State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
115 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,718 conserved acres
9% of Burlington’s land. Who manages Burlington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,426 ac
Other state land1,167 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,141 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)90 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,426 acConservation Easement · 1,231 acState Resource Management Area · 1,167 acLocal Park · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suny Oneonta Biological Field Station State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 1,167 | Open |
| Hartwick State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 666 | Open |
| Basswood Pond State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 645 | Open |
| Plainfield State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 116 | Open |
| Town Of Burlington Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Burlington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Burlington
Pigeon Hill2,057 ft elevation
DirectionsBriar Hill2,028 ft elevation
DirectionsKlock Hill2,021 ft elevation
DirectionsRound Top1,991 ft elevation
DirectionsRice Hill1,864 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
West Burlington Memorial ChurchBuilding · listed 2001
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Burlington: 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 70 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Burlington →
Next door
Burlington and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
New Lisbon7.3 miOtsego4.9 miPlainfield3.0 miHartwick2.8 miBurlington2.7 miExeter2.0 miEdmeston1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | 9% | 0.1 | 1,374 | 16% | B |
| Otsego | 7% | 0.1 | 173 | 47% | B |
| New Lisbon | 10% | 0.2 | 1,174 | 10% | B |
| Edmeston | 2% | under 0.1 | 26 | 18% | C |
| Plainfield | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Exeter | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hartwick | 6% | 0.1 | 390 | 23% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Burlington
How much of Burlington is conserved land?
9% 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 Burlington’s trails?
Hartwick State Forest and Basswood Pond State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Burlington?
21,660 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Burlington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,503 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Burlington have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Burlington 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 →