Beartown State Forest
Nature preserve
7,101 acres3 mi of trail
Aspen Hollow Track Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Gshep92 · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Croghan
Croghan has 17,226 acres of parks, 5,368 for every 1,000 residents
32% of Croghan’s land is conserved, about 37,188 acres. The biggest trail networks: Beartown State Forest (3 mi), Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest (1.9 mi). 45 miles of mapped trail cross Croghan, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #249 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
37,188 acres · of 179.0 sq mi of land
Trails
45 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
17,226 ac
5,368 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,647 ft
Bald Mountain
Lakes & rivers
22
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Croghan?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Croghan have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Croghan is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #249 of 758 in New York. 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 Croghan’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (45 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5,368 acres of park per 1,000 residents (17,226 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home32% 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 78%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 67%
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.
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 Beartown State Forest, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
5,541 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Watson's East Triangle Wild Forest
Nature preserve
1,822 acres0.3 mi of trail
Keck Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Balsam Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
556 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Beartown State Forest7,101 acres · 3 mi of trail
Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest5,541 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Watson's East Triangle Wild Forest1,822 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Balsam Creek State Forest556 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Black River Waterway Access2 acres
Who protects it
37,188 conserved acres
32% of Croghan’s land. Who manages Croghan’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation38,280 ac
Town or city2,043 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,070 ac
State Conservation Area · 15,064 acForest Stewardship Easement · 14,927 acUnknown Easement · 8,287 acLocal Park · 2,043 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1,070 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19,028 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beartown State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 7,141 | Open |
| Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 5,534 | Open |
| Village Of Carthage Land Local Park | Town or city | 2,040 | Unknown |
| Watson'S East Triangle Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,830 | Open |
| Future Farmers Of America Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,070 | Closed |
| Balsam Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 559 | Open |
| Village of Croghan Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
| Black River Waterway Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Croghan
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Croghan
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Croghan
6 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Peaks in Croghan
Bald Mountain1,647 ft elevation
DirectionsMiddle Hill1,043 ft elevation
DirectionsJohn Browns Mountain1,033 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Hill1,030 ft elevation
DirectionsCharlies Hill925 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Tom896 ft elevation · In Beartown State Forest
DirectionsBoreas Mountain827 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 22 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.4 miUnpaved · 6.4 mi
Keck Trail1.4 mi
Aspen Hollow Track Trail1.4 mi
West Side Trail?0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Ashcraft PondBelfort PondreservoirCarthage ReservoirreservoirClear PondDeer PondEffley Falls PondreservoirElmer Falls PondreservoirFrench PondHigh Falls PondreservoirLanes PondLong PondMeister PondMud PondRock PondRound PondSnider PondSoft Maple ReservoirreservoirTaylorville PondreservoirTrout LakeTwin PondsBeaver RiverWest Branch Oswegatchie River
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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Croghan: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 39 | 53 | 66 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Croghan →
Next door
Croghan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croghan | 32% | 0.3 | 5,368 | 32% | A− |
| New Bremen | 4% | 0.2 | 227 | 29% | B− |
| Denmark | under 1% | under 0.1 | 31 | 34% | C |
| Wilna | 1% | 0.7 | 30 | 74% | B |
| Diana | 31% | 0.1 | 14,692 | 73% | A− |
| Watson | 52% | 0.6 | 14,532 | 28% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Croghan
Where can I hike in Croghan?
The longest trail networks: Beartown State Forest, 3 miles; Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest, 1.9 miles; Watson's East Triangle Wild Forest, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Croghan is conserved land?
32% 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 Croghan’s trails?
Beartown State Forest and Frank E. Jadwin Memorial State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Croghan?
195,809 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Croghan or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 17,228 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Croghan have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #249 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 Croghan 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 →