East Platner Brook Unit
Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
299 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
New Stone Hall · Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin
Few parks or trails are on the map in Franklin
20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.1 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin, 0.1 per square mile of land. 1% of Franklin’s land is conserved, about 763 acres.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
763 acres · of 81.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
39 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,205 ft
Jackson Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (39 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13BParks close to home20% 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 26%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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.
Plymouth Unit
Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
234 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
East Brook Unit
Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
71 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Freer Hollow Unit
Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
763 conserved acres
1% of Franklin’s land. Who manages Franklin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation456 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits257 ac
Town or city231 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)10 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Recreation or Education Easement · 321 acOther Easement · 278 acWatershed Protection Area · 193 acConservation Easement · 125 acLocal Park · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 531 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City Watershed Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 183 | Closed |
| Village Of Franklin Land Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Unknown |
| Town of Franklin Land Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
| New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection 1 Watershed Protection Area | Town or city | 11 | Closed |
| Franklin Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Franklin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Franklin
Jackson Hill2,205 ft elevation
DirectionsWaterman Peak2,205 ft elevation
DirectionsJohnson Hill2,113 ft elevation
DirectionsPalmer Hill2,051 ft elevation
DirectionsHeathen Hill1,998 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Zion1,988 ft elevation
DirectionsSherman Hill1,926 ft elevation
DirectionsOak Hill1,909 ft elevation
Directions2 more peaks
Chamberlain Hill1,841 ft elevation
DirectionsRoundtop1,627 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & 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
4Tennis
3Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Franklin: May and July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin →
Next door
Franklin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 20% | C |
| Otego | 1% | 0.2 | 18 | 32% | C |
| Sidney | 2% | 0.1 | 126 | 75% | B |
| Meredith | 5% | under 0.1 | 7 | 1% | C− |
| Walton | 11% | 0.3 | 48 | 55% | B+ |
| Hamden | 9% | 0.1 | 347 | 17% | B− |
| Oneonta | 9% | 0.3 | 346 | 56% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin
How much of Franklin is conserved land?
1% 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 Franklin’s trails?
East Platner Brook Unit and Plymouth Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin?
15,876 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 39 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin have?
Ahead of 26% 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 Franklin 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 →