North Harmony State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
241 acres3.1 mi of trail
Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto West Side Overland Hiking Trail - Rt 474Website ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Harmony
Harmony has 3,277 acres of parks, 1,398 for every 1,000 residents
16% of Harmony’s land is conserved, about 4,674 acres. The biggest trail networks: North Harmony State Forest (3.1 mi), Panama State Forest (1.8 mi), Brokenstraw State Forest (1.6 mi). 19% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
4,674 acres · of 45.1 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,277 ac
1,398 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,867 ft
Sweet Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Harmony?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harmony have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harmony is ahead of 75% 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 Harmony’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,398 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,277 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home19% 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 75%
LessMore
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 North Harmony State Forest, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Panama State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,207 acres1.8 mi of trail
Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Brokenstraw State Forest
Nature preserve
646 acres1.6 mi of trail
Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto West Side Overland Hiking Trail - Southern TerminusWebsite ↗
Watts Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
2,425 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
North Harmony State Forest241 acres · 3.1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
DirectionsPanama State Forest1,207 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Brokenstraw State Forest646 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWatts Wildlife Management Area2,425 acres
Hill Higher State Forest1,144 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Who protects it
4,674 conserved acres
16% of Harmony’s land. Who manages Harmony’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation4,639 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)35 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,257 acState Resource Management Area · 1,381 acConservation Easement · 35 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 35 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watts Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 1,381 | Open |
| Panama State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,210 | Open |
| Hill Higher State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,148 | Open |
| Brokenstraw State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 653 | Open |
| North Harmony State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 246 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Harmony
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Harmony
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Harmony
Sweet Hill1,867 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.7 miHorses · 2.0 miUnpaved · 5.7 mi
Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail5.6 mi
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
3Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Harmony: May 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Harmony →
Next door
Harmony and its neighbors
Harmony has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmony | 16% | 0.4 | 1,398 | 19% | A− |
| North Harmony | 13% | 0.9 | 1,546 | 27% | A− |
| Busti | 2% | under 0.1 | 69 | 53% | C+ |
| Clymer | 2% | 0.2 | 150 | 37% | B− |
| Panama | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Harmony
Where can I hike in Harmony?
The longest trail networks: North Harmony State Forest, 3.1 miles; Panama State Forest, 1.8 miles; Brokenstraw State Forest, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Harmony is conserved land?
16% 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 Harmony’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at North Harmony State Forest, Panama State Forest and Brokenstraw State Forest. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Harmony?
21,487 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harmony or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,670 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harmony have?
Ahead of 75% 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 Harmony 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 →