Grafton has 4,732 acres of parks, 2,545 for every 1,000 residents
70 miles of mapped trail cross Grafton, 1.6 per square mile of land. 17% of Grafton’s land is conserved, about 4,766 acres. The biggest trail networks: Grafton Lakes State Park (27.4 mi), Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center (8.4 mi), Grafton Forest (6.4 mi).
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grafton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. 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 Grafton’s overall grade.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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.
Ravens Retreat94 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Hudson Taconic Lands
Cowee State Forest16 acres · NYS DEC
Lanford Wood Community Forest3 acres · Hudson Taconic Lands
Who protects it
4,766 conserved acres
17% of Grafton’s land. Who manages Grafton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,599 ac
State conservation1,785 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits437 ac
County69 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)17 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Park · 2,599 acState Conservation Area · 1,785 acPrivate Conservation · 251 acConservation Easement · 184 acLocal Park · 45 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 41 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Grafton Lakes State Park
State Park
State parks
2,599
Open
Pittstown State Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
1,785
Open
Friends of the Dyken Pond Center Ltd Land
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits
251
Open
County of Rensselaer Land
Local Park
County
44
Unknown
Dyken Pond County Environmental Center
Local Recreation Area
County
25
Open
The Conservation Fund Land
Private Forest Stewardship
Land trusts & nonprofits
19
Closed
Town of Grafton Land
Local Park
Town or city
1
Unknown
Things to do
22 places to go in Grafton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grafton
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Grafton
Long Pond Swimming AreaIn Grafton Lakes State Park
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Baseball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
1 place 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.
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
9.0
High (°F)
30
32
40
54
66
74
78
76
69
57
45
34
Rain (in)
3.2
2.7
3.3
3.6
4.0
4.9
4.8
4.6
4.6
4.6
3.6
3.8
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 Grafton →
Next door
Grafton and its neighbors
Grafton has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grafton
Where can I hike in Grafton?
The longest trail networks: Grafton Lakes State Park, 27.4 miles; Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, 8.4 miles; Grafton Forest, 6.4 miles; Valentino Family Community Forest, 5.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grafton is conserved land?
17% 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 Grafton’s trails?
Grafton Lakes State Park and Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grafton?
36,248 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grafton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,732 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grafton have?
Ahead of 91% 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 Grafton neighbors.
Photo: Nheyob · CC BY-SA 3.0