Highland Lakes State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
109 acres2.5 mi of trail
Center Ridge TrailUpper Ridge TrailLower Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Crawford
Crawford has 494 acres of parks, 54 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Highland Lakes State Park (2.5 mi). 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Crawford’s land is conserved, about 990 acres.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #493 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
990 acres · of 40.0 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
494 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Crawford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Crawford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Crawford is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #493 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 Crawford’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (494 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home40% 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 57%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 35%
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 Highland Lakes State Park, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Old Crawford Postal Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
990 conserved acres
4% of Crawford’s land. Who manages Crawford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits851 ac
County423 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)140 ac
State parks113 ac
Town or city63 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government54 ac
Other state land9 ac
Agricultural Easement · 678 acLocal Park · 534 acConservation Easement · 157 acPrivate Conservation · 155 acState Park · 123 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 387 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winding Hills County Park Local Park | County | 213 | Open |
| County of Orange Land Local Park | County | 210 | Unknown |
| Open Space Institute Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 155 | Open |
| Highland Lakes State Park State Park | State parks | 113 | Open |
| Town Of Crawford Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 48 | Open |
| Town of Crawford Land Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Unknown |
| Port Jervis City Lands Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Palisades Interstate Park State Park | Other state land | 9 | Open |
| Chester Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Crawford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Crawford
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Old Railroad Trail3.1 mi
Center Ridge Trail0.4 mi
Upper Ridge Trail0.3 mi
Lower Ridge Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
13Baseball
7Tennis
4Pickleball
3Soccer
2Football
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Alexander Thompson HouseBuilding · listed 1997
About itHopewell Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1998
About itRobert A. Thompson HouseBuilding · listed 1998
About itJohn I Crawford FarmBuilding · listed 1998
About itShorter HouseBuilding · listed 1998
About itAndrew Thompson FarmsteadBuilding · listed 2005
About itTaylor-Corwin HouseBuilding · listed 2005
About itHart HouseBuilding · listed 2006
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Crawford: April and May
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Crawford →
Next door
Crawford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford | 4% | 0.3 | 54 | 40% | B |
| Shawangunk | 11% | 0.3 | 147 | 34% | B+ |
| Mamakating | 11% | 0.6 | 259 | 41% | A− |
| Pine Bush | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Montgomery | 11% | 0.8 | 102 | 78% | A |
| Wallkill | 12% | 1.2 | 162 | 84% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Crawford
Where can I hike in Crawford?
The longest trail networks: Highland Lakes State Park, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Crawford is conserved land?
4% 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 Crawford’s trails?
Highland Lakes State Park and Crawford Town Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Crawford?
49,025 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Crawford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 494 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Crawford have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #493 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 Crawford 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 →