Charles E. Baker State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
277 acres0.8 mi of trail
Horse Trail 8
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Old Biology Hall · Photo: User:Stephen Sommerhalter · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hamilton
Hamilton has 327 acres of parks, 51 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Charles E. Baker State Forest (0.8 mi). 6.8 miles of mapped trail cross Hamilton, 0.2 per square mile of land. 2% of Hamilton’s land is conserved, about 593 acres.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #531 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
593 acres · of 41.4 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
327 ac
51 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,831 ft
Crumb Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Hamilton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hamilton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hamilton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #531 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hamilton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land51 acres of park per 1,000 residents (327 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home60% 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 52%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 30%
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 Charles E. Baker State Forest, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hamilton Village Green
Park
2 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
The Schapiro Reserve
Managed by Southern Madison Heritage Trust
40 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
The Leland Reserve
Managed by Southern Madison Heritage Trust
18 acres
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
593 conserved acres
2% of Hamilton’s land. Who manages Hamilton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation280 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)149 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits136 ac
Town or city21 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government7 ac
State Conservation Area · 280 acConservation Easement · 149 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 119 acLocal Park · 22 acRecreation or Education Easement · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 166 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles E. Baker State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 280 | Open |
| Colgate University Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 119 | Closed |
| Village Of Hamilton Land Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Unknown |
| Hamilton Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Village Of Earlville Land Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Unknown |
| Triangle Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Hamilton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hamilton
Hamilton Central School Playground
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hamilton
Crumb Hill1,831 ft elevation
DirectionsClark Hill1,765 ft elevation
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Hamilton
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.8 mi
Darwin Thinking Trail1.0 mi
Horse Trail 80.8 mi
upper loop0.3 mi
Colgate University0.1 mi
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
8Tennis
6Baseball
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
2Soccer
1Football
1Multi-sport
1Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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 Hamilton: May, July 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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hamilton →
Next door
Hamilton and its neighbors
Hamilton has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 2% | 0.2 | 51 | 60% | B− |
| Sherburne | 6% | 0.1 | 227 | 50% | B |
| Madison | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 5% | D |
| Lebanon | 6% | under 0.1 | 1,137 | 18% | B− |
| Brookfield | 24% | 0.8 | 5,640 | 30% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hamilton
Where can I hike in Hamilton?
The longest trail networks: Charles E. Baker State Forest, 0.8 miles; Hamilton Village Green, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hamilton 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 Hamilton’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at The Leland Reserve. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hamilton?
33,145 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hamilton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 327 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hamilton have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #531 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 Hamilton 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 →