Charleston State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
3,929 acres26.9 mi of trail
Snowmobile TrailSki TrailMid Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
First Baptist Church · Photo: Nelson E. Baldwin, Photographer · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Charleston
Charleston has 5,550 acres of parks, 3,981 for every 1,000 residents
23% of Charleston’s land is conserved, about 6,133 acres. 37 miles of mapped trail cross Charleston, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Charleston State Forest (26.9 mi), Schoharie Creek Preserve (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
6,133 acres · of 42.0 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,550 ac
3,981 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Charleston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charleston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charleston is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Charleston’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land3,981 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,550 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 90%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Charleston State Forest, with 26.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Schoharie Creek Preserve
Nature preserve
191 acres1.4 mi of trail
Blue TrailHighwater Trail(Red)Pond Overlook Trail (Yellow)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Rural Grove State Forest
Nature preserve
816 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Lost Valley State Forest
Nature preserve
740 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
6,133 conserved acres
23% of Charleston’s land. Who manages Charleston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation5,517 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits381 ac
County332 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)93 ac
State Conservation Area · 5,517 acPrivate Conservation · 381 acLocal Conservation Area · 332 acConservation Easement · 93 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 93 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 3,953 | Open |
| Rural Grove State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 819 | Open |
| Lost Valley State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 745 | Open |
| Montgomery County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 332 | Restricted |
| Schoharie Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 191 | Closed |
| Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 191 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Charleston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Charleston
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 26.7 mi
Snowmobile Trail6.5 mi
Ski Trail2.8 mi
Disc Golf Course Trail1.6 mi
Blue Trail1.1 mi
Waterfall Trail0.7 mi
Mid Trail0.6 mi
Highwater Trail(Red)0.2 mi
Pond Overlook Trail (Yellow)0.1 mi
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).
First Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Charleston: May 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) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Charleston →
Next door
Charleston and its neighbors
Charleston has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | 23% | 0.9 | 3,981 | 45% | A |
| Florida | 2% | 0.1 | 146 | 29% | C+ |
| Duanesburg | 3% | 0.2 | 201 | 24% | B− |
| Glen | 2% | under 0.1 | 115 | 38% | C+ |
| Root | 4% | 0.1 | 601 | 28% | B− |
| Esperance | under 1% | 0.3 | 5 | 25% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charleston
Where can I hike in Charleston?
The longest trail networks: Charleston State Forest, 26.9 miles; Schoharie Creek Preserve, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charleston is conserved land?
23% 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 Charleston’s trails?
Charleston State Forest and Schoharie Creek Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Charleston?
10,228 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charleston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,550 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Charleston have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Charleston 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 →