Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
152 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in De Kalb
Few parks or trails are on the map in De Kalb
11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross De Kalb. 2% of De Kalb’s land is conserved, about 966 acres.
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
966 acres · of 82.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
21 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does De Kalb have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, De Kalb is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of De Kalb’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (21 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home11% 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 19%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in De Kalb. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaver Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
966 conserved acres
2% of De Kalb’s land. Who manages De Kalb’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)569 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits225 ac
State conservation168 ac
Town or city3 ac
Conservation Easement · 569 acPrivate Conservation · 225 acState Resource Management Area · 153 acState Conservation Area · 14 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 569 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thousand Islands Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 225 | Closed |
| Upper And Lower Lakes Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 153 | Open |
| Beaver Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 14 | Open |
| Town of Dekalb Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Methodist Episcopal Church of East DeKalbBuilding · listed 1998
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in De Kalb: May and August
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 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in De Kalb →
Next door
De Kalb 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Kalb | 2% | under 0.1 | 10 | 11% | C− |
| De Peyster | 14% | 0.2 | 1,103 | 8% | B |
| Hermon | 17% | under 0.1 | 3,695 | 57% | B+ |
| Gouverneur | 6% | 0.1 | 394 | 54% | B |
| Canton | 14% | 0.2 | 5 | 53% | B− |
| Oswegatchie | 2% | 0.1 | 82 | 8% | C+ |
| Macomb | — 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 De Kalb
How much of De Kalb is conserved land?
2% 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 De Kalb’s trails?
Upper And Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area and Beaver Creek State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near De Kalb?
32,540 acres of parks and open public land lie inside De Kalb or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 181 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does De Kalb have?
Ahead of 19% 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 De Kalb 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 →