Pawling Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
306 acres3.8 mi of trail
Orange LoopPurple TrailAppalachian Trail / Ridge TrailGreen Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Dover
Dover has 1,021 acres of parks, 122 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Pawling Nature Reserve (3.8 mi), Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge (1.7 mi). 6% of Dover’s land is conserved, about 2,081 acres. 19 miles of mapped trail cross Dover, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #339 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
2,081 acres · of 55.2 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,021 ac
122 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,450 ft
Preston Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
What kind of outdoors town is Dover?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dover have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dover is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #339 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 Dover’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land122 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,021 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% 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 71%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 55%
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 Pawling Nature Reserve, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
144 acres1.7 mi of trail
Red TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
West Mountain State Forest
Nature preserve
373 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Town of Dover
Park
197 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Pawling Nature Reserve306 acres · 3.8 mi of trail
DirectionsGreat Thicket National Wildlife Refuge144 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
DirectionsWest Mountain State Forest373 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsTown of Dover197 acres
Leather Hill Preserve157 acres
Swamp River Waterway Access56 acres
Currie Sanctuary4 acres · Kent Land Trust
Appalachian Trail Scenic Open Space1 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsWho protects it
2,081 conserved acres
6% of Dover’s land. Who manages Dover’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service842 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits838 ac
State conservation435 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service287 ac
Town or city222 ac
County63 ac
Regional Water Districts13 ac
Private Conservation · 851 acNational Scenic or Historic Trail · 628 acState Conservation Area · 378 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 287 acLocal Park · 226 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 144 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 628 | Open |
| Pawling Nature Reserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 603 | Open |
| West Mountain State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 378 | Open |
| Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 287 | Restricted |
| Roger Perry Memorial Reserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 234 | Open |
| Town of Dover Land Local Park | Town or city | 222 | Unknown |
| Stone Church Local Other or Unknown | County | 60 | Unknown |
| Swamp River Waterway Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 57 | Open |
| Unknown Private Conservation | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Reagans Mill Water Company Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 7 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
23 places to go in Dover
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dover
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Dover
Swamp River Fishing Access
DirectionsScenic views in Dover
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Dover
Preston Hill1,450 ft elevation
DirectionsDennis Hill1,365 ft elevation
DirectionsEast Mountain1,332 ft elevation
DirectionsSchaghticoke Mountain1,325 ft elevation
DirectionsWest Mountain1,286 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Mountain1,266 ft elevation
DirectionsWest Mountain1,224 ft elevation
DirectionsDobar Mountain1,086 ft elevation
Directions10 more peaks
Leather Hill1,001 ft elevation
DirectionsGardner Hill991 ft elevation
DirectionsLossing Hill971 ft elevation
DirectionsWaldo Hill958 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Tom Stein925 ft elevation
DirectionsMullin Hill879 ft elevation
DirectionsSawmill Hill804 ft elevation
DirectionsFox Hill643 ft elevation
DirectionsNellie Hill597 ft elevation · In Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsChurch Hill522 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
16 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.4 mi
Appalachian Trail2.0 mi
Orange Loop1.3 mi
Red Trail1.2 mi
Appalachian Trail / Ridge Trail1.0 mi
Purple Trail0.8 mi
(red blazes)0.7 mi
Ridge Trail0.6 mi
(yellow blazes)0.5 mi
Stone Church path0.5 mi
(blue blazes)0.4 mi
6 more trails
Green Trail
0.4 miYellow Loop
0.3 mi(blue + yellow blazes)
0.3 miBlue Trail
0.1 mi(overgrown)
0.1 mi(red, blue, yellow blazes)
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
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
6Baseball
4Pickleball
3Basketball
3Soccer
2Tennis
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Dover: 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) | 36 | 39 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 74 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Dover →
Next door
Dover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 6% | 0.3 | 122 | 56% | B+ |
| Union Vale | 3% | 0.3 | 93 | 22% | B− |
| Amenia | 3% | 0.2 | 162 | 44% | B− |
| Pawling | 9% | 0.9 | 114 | 41% | A− |
| Beekman | 19% | 0.4 | 67 | 44% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dover
Where can I hike in Dover?
The longest trail networks: Pawling Nature Reserve, 3.8 miles; Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge, 1.7 miles; West Mountain State Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dover is conserved land?
6% 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 Dover’s trails?
Pawling Nature Reserve and Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dover?
25,669 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dover or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,650 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dover have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #339 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 Dover 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 →