Drake mountain
Managed by Adirondack Land Trust
2,382 acres7.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Chesterfield
Chesterfield has 5,867 acres of parks, 2,354 for every 1,000 residents
20% of Chesterfield’s land is conserved, about 9,976 acres. 67 miles of mapped trail cross Chesterfield, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Drake mountain (7.3 mi), Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area (5.8 mi), Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve (3.9 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
9,976 acres · of 79.0 sq mi of land
Trails
67 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,867 ac
2,354 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,612 ft
Bitch Mountain
Lakes & rivers
16
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Chesterfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Room to roam2,354 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild20% of the land is conserved; a typical New York town, 5%.A trail town0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 76% of U.S. towns.History along the way7 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chesterfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chesterfield is ahead of 88% 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 Chesterfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (67 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2,354 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,867 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% 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 88%
LessMore
Water is 25% of Chesterfield’s area (26 of 105 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
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 Drake mountain, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
705 acres5.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve
Managed by Northeast Wilderness Trust
2,416 acres3.9 mi of trail
Benny's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Taylor Pond Wild Forest
Nature preserve
2,294 acres3.6 mi of trail
Observer's TrailRanger Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
OSI
Managed by Open Space Institute Land Trst
1,848 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Schuyler Island Primitive Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
160 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
9,976 conserved acres
20% of Chesterfield’s land. Water is left out: Chesterfield has 79.0 square miles of land and 26.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Chesterfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits8,113 ac
State conservation4,261 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)149 ac
Joint123 ac
Town or city27 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government8 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,243 acConservation Easement · 2,939 acRecreation or Education Easement · 2,732 acPrivate Conservation · 2,430 acState Resource Management Area · 710 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,290 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 22 of 38 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast Wilderness Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,430 | Open |
| Taylor Pond Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 2,302 | Open |
| Wickham Marsh Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 710 | Open |
| Unclassified State Conservation Area | State conservation | 614 | Open |
| Poke-O-Moonshine Day Use Area State Recreation Area | State conservation | 272 | Open |
| Schuyler Island Primitive Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 168 | Open |
| Butternut Pond State Conservation Area | State conservation | 159 | Restricted |
| Town of Chesterfield Land Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Unknown |
| Keeseville Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Town Of Chesterfield & AuSable Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
65 places to go in Chesterfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Chesterfield
Port Kent Public Beach Park
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Chesterfield
Port Douglas Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Chesterfield
Horseshoe Falls
DirectionsRainbow Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Chesterfield
Plus 7 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Chesterfield
Bitch Mountain2,612 ft elevation
DirectionsJug Mountain2,434 ft elevation
DirectionsBlack Ash Mountain2,388 ft elevation
DirectionsOld Rang Mountain2,277 ft elevation · In Taylor Pond Wild Forest
DirectionsCarl Mountain2,238 ft elevation · In Taylor Pond Wild Forest
DirectionsBaldface Mountain2,208 ft elevation
DirectionsRocky Mountain2,182 ft elevation
DirectionsMcGuire Mountain2,178 ft elevation · In Taylor Pond Wild Forest
Directions22 more peaks
Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain2,162 ft elevation · In Taylor Pond Wild Forest
DirectionsBlack Mountain2,129 ft elevation
DirectionsLong Tom Mountain2,100 ft elevation
DirectionsDeerfield Mountain2,093 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsBarber Mountain2,080 ft elevation
DirectionsNotch Mountain2,073 ft elevation · In Taylor Pond Wild Forest
DirectionsLittle Deerfield Mountain1,847 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsWeston Mountain1,785 ft elevation
DirectionsKiln Mountain1,706 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsBigelow Mountain1,644 ft elevation
DirectionsDry Mountain1,611 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsBurnt Mountain1,529 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsBurt Mountain1,503 ft elevation
DirectionsGreenwood Mountain1,503 ft elevation
DirectionsPond Mountain1,450 ft elevation · In OSI
DirectionsHogback Mountain1,447 ft elevation
DirectionsLynch Mountain1,394 ft elevation
DirectionsFlagstaff Mountain1,378 ft elevation
DirectionsPigback Mountain1,358 ft elevation
DirectionsSchoolhouse Mountain1,325 ft elevation
DirectionsDrake Mountain1,316 ft elevation · In Drake mountain
DirectionsBurbank Mountain1,286 ft elevation
Directions45 peaks are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Picnic areas in Chesterfield
AuSable Chasm Picnic Area
DirectionsCampgrounds in Chesterfield
Ausable Chasm Campground
DirectionsPoke-O-Moonshine Campground
DirectionsPort Kent Camp Site
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 16 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 21.1 miUnpaved · 39.2 mi
Benny's Trail2.9 mi
Ranger Trail1.8 mi
Observer's Trail1.3 mi
Rim Walk Trail0.4 mi
Dry Chasm Trail0.4 mi
Adventure Trail0.1 mi
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
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.
Double-Span Metal Pratt Truss BridgeStructure · listed 1983
About itRembrandt HallBuilding · listed 1983
About itTomlinson HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itAuSable Chasm BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itOld State Road BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itKessel Park InnBuilding · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Chesterfield: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 53 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Chesterfield →
Next door
Chesterfield and its neighbors
Chesterfield has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Chesterfield67 miLewis61 miColchester58 miJay49 miSouth Burlington41 miAu Sable25 miWillsboro24 miKeeseville0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | 20% | 0.8 | 2,354 | 44% | A |
| Au Sable | 4% | 0.6 | 8 | 26% | C+ |
| Willsboro | 7% | 0.6 | 86 | 35% | B+ |
| Lewis | 23% | 0.7 | 951 | 30% | A− |
| Jay | 22% | 0.7 | 1,095 | 40% | A |
| Keeseville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chesterfield
Where can I hike in Chesterfield?
The longest trail networks: Drake mountain, 7.3 miles; Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area, 5.8 miles; Eagle Mountain Wilderness Preserve, 3.9 miles; Taylor Pond Wild Forest, 3.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chesterfield is conserved land?
20% 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 Chesterfield’s trails?
Drake mountain and Wickham Marsh Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chesterfield?
63,212 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chesterfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,584 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chesterfield have?
Ahead of 88% 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 Chesterfield 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 →