4,126 acres are parks and preserves, 322 per 1,000 residents. 58 miles of mapped trail cross Highlands, 1.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Bear Mountain State Park (12.6 mi), Harriman State Park (11.3 mi), Black Rock Forest (10.7 mi).
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #23 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
5,857 acres · of 30.4 sq mi of land
Trails
58 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,126 ac
322 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
1.7 mi paths
Highest peak
1,447 ft
Spy Rock
Lakes & rivers
25
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Highlands?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Highlands is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #23 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Highlands’ overall grade.
Water is 9% of Highlands’ area (3 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 28%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.
30% of Highlands’ land. Water is left out: Highlands has 30.4 square miles of land and 3.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Highlands’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks5,747 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,972 ac
Town or city43 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government15 ac
State Park · 4,120 acConservation Easement · 1,744 acPrivate Conservation · 1,719 acLocal Park · 58 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 47 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 46 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Harriman State Park
State Park
State parks
1,962
Open
Black Rock Forest
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits
1,719
Open
Bear Mountain State Park
State Park
State parks
1,494
Open
Storm King
State Park
State parks
524
Open
RMH / Scenic Hudson Land Trust
State Park
Land trusts & nonprofits
138
Open
Fort Montgomery State Historic Site
State Historic or Cultural Area
State parks
47
Open
Ft. Montgomery State Historic Site
Private Park
Land trusts & nonprofits
28
Unknown
Village Of Highland Falls Land
Local Park
Town or city
25
Unknown
Roe Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government
15
Open
Town Of Highlands Land
Local Park
Town or city
14
Open
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
45 places to go in Highlands
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Highlands
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Highlands
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
21Tennis
9Baseball
7Soccer
6Football
6Basketball
2Field hockey
2Lacrosse
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
15 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 22 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Highlands: 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)
9.5
10.6
11.8
13.3
14.5
15.1
14.9
13.8
12.4
11.0
9.8
9.2
High (°F)
35
38
46
59
69
77
82
81
73
62
50
40
Rain (in)
3.6
2.8
4.1
3.9
3.9
4.6
4.5
4.6
4.5
4.7
3.9
4.2
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Highlands →
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Highlands
Where can I hike in Highlands?
The longest trail networks: Bear Mountain State Park, 12.6 miles; Harriman State Park, 11.3 miles; Black Rock Forest, 10.7 miles; Storm King State Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Highlands is conserved land?
30% 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 Highlands’ trails?
Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Highlands?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Highlands?
114,796 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Highlands or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,853 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Highlands have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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 Highlands neighbors.
Photo: Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com · CC BY-SA 3.0