Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Fwgoebel · CC BY-SA 3.067% of Caroga’s land is conserved, about 21,793 acres. 21,877 acres are parks and preserves, 22,255 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Ferris Lake Wild Forest (11.7 mi), Shaker Mountain Wild Forest (9.3 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
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, Caroga is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
Water is 7% of Caroga’s area (4 of 54 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 63%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Ferris Lake Wild Forest, with 11.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
67% of Caroga’s land. Water is left out: Caroga has 50.6 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Caroga’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 70 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaker Mountain Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 11,260 | Open |
| Ferris Lake Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 10,373 | Open |
| Caroga Lake Campground State Recreation Area | State conservation | 50 | Open |
| Unclassified State Conservation Area | State conservation | 19 | Open |
| Peck Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 11 | Open |
| Silver Lake Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 6 | Open |
| Town Of Caroga Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
| East Caroga Lake Protective Assocication Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
7 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
7 campgrounds without a name on the map.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Caroga →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caroga | 67% | 0.6 | 22,255 | 75% | A |
| Bleecker | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Johnstown | 17% | 0.6 | 1,100 | 49% | A |
| Stratford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Arietta | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ephratah | 18% | 0.3 | 1,389 | 25% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Ferris Lake Wild Forest, 11.7 miles; Shaker Mountain Wild Forest, 9.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
67% 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.
Ferris Lake Wild Forest and Shaker Mountain Wild Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
202,403 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Caroga or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 21,885 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 95% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Caroga neighbors.
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 →