Rockland Lake State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,136 acres13.3 mi of trail
Rockland Lake Jogging and Bike PathLong PathBoulders Loop
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Copperhead7 · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Clarkstown
15% of Clarkstown’s land is conserved: 3,647 acres
40 miles of mapped trail cross Clarkstown, 1.0 per square mile of land. 3,643 acres are parks and preserves, 42 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Rockland Lake State Park (13.3 mi), Hook Mountain State Park (10.4 mi), Kennedy - Dells County Park (4.5 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #102 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
3,647 acres · of 38.5 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,643 ac
42 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.5 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
702 ft
Hook Mountain
Lakes & rivers
9
What kind of outdoors town is Clarkstown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clarkstown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clarkstown is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #102 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clarkstown’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land42 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,643 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 87%
Water is 18% of Clarkstown’s area (9 of 47 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Rockland Lake State Park, with 13.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hook Mountain State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
679 acres10.4 mi of trail
Long PathHaverstraw River TrailNyack River TrailTreason Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Kennedy - Dells County Park
Park
205 acres4.5 mi of trail
orange
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nyack Beach State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
51 acres1.1 mi of trail
Boulders LoopLong PathNyack River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Congers Lake Memorial Park
Park
173 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Demarest Kill County Park
Park
30 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
High Tor State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
213 acres0.4 mi of trail
White - Spur Path to Youmans - Van Orden House & High Tor VineyardsLong PathWhite - High Tor State Park
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Marydell Nature Preserve
Managed by The Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Boulders Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 15 parks & preserves
Rockland Lake State Park1,136 acres · 13.3 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsHook Mountain State Park679 acres · 10.4 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsKennedy - Dells County Park205 acres · 4.5 mi of trail
DirectionsNyack Beach State Park51 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsCongers Lake Memorial Park173 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsDemarest Kill County Park30 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsHigh Tor State Park213 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
DirectionsMarydell Nature Preserve8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · The Friends of Rockland Lake and Hook Mountain
Davenport Preserve91 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Germonds Park79 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRiver Hook12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Friends of River Hook
DirectionsDutch Gardens1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
South Mountain Park64 acres
Zukor Park22 acres · Town of Clarkstown
DirectionsHistorical Society of Rockland County Grounds7 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,647 conserved acres
15% of Clarkstown’s land. Water is left out: Clarkstown has 38.5 square miles of land and 8.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clarkstown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,140 ac
Town or city1,291 ac
County487 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government104 ac
Private owners35 ac
Regional agency12 ac
Other state land11 ac
State Park · 2,151 acLocal Park · 1,765 acLocal Conservation Area · 82 acPrivate Conservation · 35 acLocal Other or Unknown · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 28 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockland Lake State Park State Park | State parks | 1,133 | Open |
| TOWN OF CLARKSTOWN Land Local Park | Town or city | 723 | Unknown |
| Hook Mountain State Park State Park | State parks | 703 | Open |
| COUNTY OF ROCKLAND Land Local Park | County | 385 | Unknown |
| High Tor State Park State Park | State parks | 220 | Open |
| Congers Lake Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 175 | Open |
| Rcrc Flying Field Local Park | Town or city | 140 | Open |
| Nyack Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 83 | Open |
| Mountainview Nature Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Kings Park Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
30 places to go in Clarkstown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Clarkstown
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Clarkstown
10 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Clarkstown
Bark N' Brews
DirectionsKennedy Dells Dog ParkIn Kennedy - Dells County Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Clarkstown
5 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Clarkstown
Hook Mountain702 ft elevation · In Rockland Lake State Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Clarkstown
9 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
15 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.6 miUnpaved · 20.9 mi
Long Path7.9 mi
Rockland Lake Jogging and Bike Path3.0 mi
Haverstraw River Trail2.8 mi
Boulders Loop1.4 mi
Nyack River Trail1.3 mi
Mountain Trail1.1 mi
Blue Trail0.8 mi
Goat Path0.6 mi
Treason Trail0.4 mi
orange0.3 mi
5 more trails
White Trail
0.3 miOrange Trail
0.3 miWhite - Spur Path to Youmans - Van Orden House & High Tor Vineyards
0.1 miYellow Trail
0.1 miWhite - High Tor State Park
0.1 miBiking & sports
3.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
3.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
82Tennis
60Baseball
15Basketball
11Soccer
8Football
4Pickleball
1Tracks
1Multi-sport
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →17 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Terneur-Hutton HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itUpper Nyack FirehouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itBlauvelt HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itRockland County Courthouse and Dutch GardensDistrict · listed 1991
About itMount Moor African-American CemeterySite · listed 1994
About itFirst Methodist Episcopal Church of NyackBuilding · listed 1998
About itPhiladelphia Toboggan Company Carousel Number 15Structure · listed 2001
About itVan Houten's Landing Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itH.R. Stevens HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About itHenry Varnum Poor HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itPeter DePew HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itContempora HouseBuilding · listed 2009
About it5 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clarkstown: April 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 84 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Clarkstown →
Next door
Clarkstown and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ramapo106 miHaverstraw61 miOrangetown45 miClarkstown40 miBlauvelt14 miPearl River9.5 miNew City6.8 miHaverstraw4.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarkstown | 15% | 1.0 | 42 | 89% | A |
| Orangetown | 20% | 1.9 | 50 | 92% | A+ |
| Blauvelt | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ramapo | 32% | 1.7 | 77 | 86% | A+ |
| Haverstraw | 64% | 2.7 | 230 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Haverstraw | 24% | 2.0 | 26 | 99%+ | A+ |
| New City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pearl River | — 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 Clarkstown
Where can I hike in Clarkstown?
The longest trail networks: Rockland Lake State Park, 13.3 miles; Hook Mountain State Park, 10.4 miles; Kennedy - Dells County Park, 4.5 miles; Nyack Beach State Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clarkstown is conserved land?
15% 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 Clarkstown’s trails?
Rockland Lake State Park and Hook Mountain State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clarkstown?
3.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths and 3.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Clarkstown?
100,186 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clarkstown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,643 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clarkstown have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #102 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 Clarkstown 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 →