Ooms Conservation Area
Managed by Columbia Land Conservancy
180 acres3.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Riders Mills Historic District · Photo: UtsukushiHikariNY · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Chatham
Chatham has 114 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Ooms Conservation Area (3.4 mi). 6% of Chatham’s land is conserved, about 2,153 acres. 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #579 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
2,153 acres · of 53.2 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
114 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.5 mi
2.5 mi paths
Highest peak
919 ft
Ashley Hill
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Chatham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chatham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chatham is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #579 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 Chatham’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (114 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home21% 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 47%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 24%
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 Ooms Conservation Area, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Freund Preserve
Managed by Nature Conservancy
60 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,153 conserved acres
6% of Chatham’s land. Who manages Chatham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,030 ac
Private owners175 ac
Town or city51 ac
State conservation9 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,469 acConservation Easement · 714 acPrivate Conservation · 709 acForest Stewardship Easement · 150 acRecreation or Education Easement · 148 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,852 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Space Institute Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 236 | Open |
| Columbia Land Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 178 | Closed |
| Ooms Conservation Area Private Conservation | Private owners | 175 | Closed |
| Freund Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 120 | Open |
| Town Of Chatham Land Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Unknown |
| New York State Lands State Other or Unknown | State conservation | 9 | Unknown |
| Village Of Chatham reservoir Land Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Chatham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Chatham
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Chatham
1 playground without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Chatham
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Chatham
Ashley Hill919 ft elevation
DirectionsTony's Nose686 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
White trail1.2 mi
red trail0.6 mi
Red Trail0.5 mi
Dorson's Rock trail0.1 mi
Green Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
2Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →12 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.
Spengler BridgeStructure · listed 1973
About itKnollcroftBuilding · listed 1985
About itJohn S. Williams House and FarmDistrict · listed 1996
About itThe Wilbor HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About itPeck HouseBuilding · listed 1999
About itRiders Mills Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itVan Valkenburgh, James G. HouseBuilding · listed 2002
About itNew Concord Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itRowe-Lant FarmBuilding · listed 2010
About itTracy Memorial Village Hall ComplexBuilding · listed 2016
About itCrandell TheatreBuilding · listed 2017
About itSanford W. and Maude Smith HouseBuilding · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
May is the best month for walking in Chatham
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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Chatham →
Next door
Chatham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatham | 6% | 0.1 | 28 | 21% | B− |
| Kinderhook | 7% | 0.3 | 47 | 61% | B+ |
| Canaan | 8% | 0.1 | 292 | 15% | B− |
| Nassau | 2% | 0.2 | 88 | 30% | B− |
| New Lebanon | 14% | 0.4 | 626 | 38% | A− |
| Ghent | 10% | 0.2 | 46 | 54% | B+ |
| Austerlitz | 19% | 0.5 | 2,098 | 34% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chatham
Where can I hike in Chatham?
The longest trail networks: Ooms Conservation Area, 3.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chatham is conserved land?
6% 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 Chatham’s trails?
Ooms Conservation Area and Freund Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chatham?
2.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chatham?
27,034 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chatham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 114 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chatham have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #579 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 Chatham 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 →