Harris Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
739 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ellington
Ellington has 753 acres of parks, 485 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Harris Hill State Forest (1.1 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Ellington, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
804 acres · of 36.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
753 ac
485 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Ellington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ellington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ellington is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. 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 Ellington’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land485 acres of park per 1,000 residents (753 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home21% 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 45%
LessMore
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 Harris Hill State Forest, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Old Ball Park
Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ellington Town Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
804 conserved acres
3% of Ellington’s land. Who manages Ellington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation751 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)48 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government5 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 741 acConservation Easement · 48 acUnknown Easement · 9 acLocal Park · 6 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 56 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 741 | Open |
| Ellington Play Park Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Ellington Town Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
| Clear Creek Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Ellington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Ellington
Top-A-Rise Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Ellington: May, June, August and 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 79 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ellington →
Next door
Ellington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellington | 3% | 0.1 | 485 | 21% | B− |
| Conewango | 6% | 0.3 | under 1 | 12% | C− |
| Cherry Creek | 7% | 0.4 | 901 | 54% | B+ |
| Gerry | 15% | 0.7 | 1,689 | 37% | A− |
| Poland | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 15% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ellington
Where can I hike in Ellington?
The longest trail networks: Harris Hill State Forest, 1.1 miles; Old Ball Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ellington is conserved land?
3% 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 Ellington’s trails?
Harris Hill State Forest and Old Ball Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ellington?
16,136 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ellington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 753 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ellington have?
Ahead of 45% 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 Ellington 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 →