66% of Colton’s land is conserved, about 101,578 acres. 29,402 acres are parks and preserves, 21,076 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Cranberry Lake Wild Forest (22.8 mi), Five Ponds Wilderness (7.6 mi), Snow Bowl State Forest (4.6 mi).
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colton is ahead of 87% 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 Colton’s overall grade.
Water is 5% of Colton’s area (13 of 255 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 63%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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.
Round Lake Wilderness828 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest465 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
High Flats State Forest100 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
White Hill Wild Forest12 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Who protects it
101,578 conserved acres
66% of Colton’s land. Water is left out: Colton has 241.7 square miles of land and 13.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Colton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 63,319 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 18 of 53 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Cranberry Lake Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
13,294
Open
Five Ponds Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
7,803
Open
Grass River Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
5,801
Open
Raquette River Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
3,443
Open
Raquette Boreal
State Resource Management Area
State conservation
3,401
Open
Raquette-Jordan Boreal Primitive Area
State Conservation Area
State conservation
2,658
Open
Eastern Five Ponds Access Primitive Area
State Conservation Area
State conservation
1,274
Open
Higley Flow State Park
State Park
State parks
1,105
Open
Lowes Lake
State Conservation Area
State conservation
853
Restricted
Round Lake Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
828
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
48 places to go in Colton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Colton
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Soccer
1Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
3 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.
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
8.9
High (°F)
26
29
38
51
65
73
77
75
68
55
42
31
Rain (in)
3.1
2.6
2.9
3.5
3.8
4.5
4.4
4.0
4.3
4.8
3.6
3.3
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Colton →
Next door
Colton and its neighbors
Colton has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
— 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 Colton
Where can I hike in Colton?
The longest trail networks: Cranberry Lake Wild Forest, 22.8 miles; Five Ponds Wilderness, 7.6 miles; Snow Bowl State Forest, 4.6 miles; Raquette River Wild Forest, 3.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colton is conserved land?
66% 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 Colton’s trails?
Cranberry Lake Wild Forest and Five Ponds Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Colton?
202,429 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38,263 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colton have?
Ahead of 87% 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 Colton neighbors.
Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0