Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
660 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Champlain
9% of Champlain’s land is conserved: 3,092 acres
The biggest trail networks: Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area (0.6 mi). 113 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents. 6.1 miles of mapped trail cross Champlain, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #510 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
3,092 acres · of 51.2 sq mi of land
Trails
6.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
113 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Champlain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Champlain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Champlain is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #510 of 758 in New York. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Champlain’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 (6 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (113 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home53% 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
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 33%
Water is 13% of Champlain’s area (8 of 59 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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 Kings Bay WMA, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rouse Memorial Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,092 conserved acres
9% of Champlain’s land. Water is left out: Champlain has 51.2 square miles of land and 7.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Champlain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,646 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,350 ac
Joint974 ac
State conservation716 ac
Town or city35 ac
State parks8 ac
County2 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,318 acAgricultural Easement · 1,651 acState Resource Management Area · 665 acState Recreation Area · 59 acLocal Park · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,331 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Bay Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 665 | Open |
| Rouses Point State Recreation Area | State conservation | 50 | Open |
| Village Of Champlain Land Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Unknown |
| Town Of Champlain Land Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Unknown |
| Great Chazy Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State parks | 8 | Open |
| Village of Rouses Point Land Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Unknown |
| County Of Clinton Land Local Park | County | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
8 places to go in Champlain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Champlain
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Champlain
Bears PlaygroundIn Duffy Memorial Sports Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Champlain
Great Chazy Boat Launch
DirectionsRiver Street Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Champlain
Lakeview Campsites
DirectionsTrails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
6Baseball
1Soccer
1Pickleball
1Basketball
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 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Rouses Point Railroad StationBuilding · listed 2005
About itU.S. Inspection Station-Mooers, New YorkBuilding · listed 2014
About itU.S. Inspection Station-Rouses Point (St. John's Highway), New YorkBuilding · listed 2014
About itU.S. Inspection Station-Rouses Point (Overton Corners), New YorkBuilding · listed 2014
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Champlain: May and July to 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Champlain →
Next door
Champlain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champlain | 9% | 0.1 | 20 | 53% | B |
| Mooers | 4% | 0.2 | 517 | 18% | B− |
| Chazy | 8% | 0.2 | 15 | 18% | C+ |
| Rouses Point | 4% | 0.1 | 25 | 69% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Champlain
Where can I hike in Champlain?
The longest trail networks: Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Champlain 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 Champlain’s trails?
Kings Bay Wildlife Management Area and Duffy Memorial Sports Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Champlain?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Champlain?
9,147 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Champlain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 785 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Champlain have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #510 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 Champlain 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 →