Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden
Managed by Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden, LLC
15 acres0.5 mi of trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Elisa.rolle · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hillsdale
Hillsdale has 66 acres of parks, 37 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden (0.5 mi). 7% of Hillsdale’s land is conserved, about 2,118 acres. 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,118 acres · of 47.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
66 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,673 ft
White Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Hillsdale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hillsdale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hillsdale is ahead of 44% 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 Hillsdale’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (66 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home14% 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 44%
LessMore
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 Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,118 conserved acres
7% of Hillsdale’s land. Who manages Hillsdale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,080 ac
Town or city3 ac
Private owners2 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,968 acConservation Easement · 520 acForest Stewardship Easement · 460 acPrivate Conservation · 132 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,982 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Land Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 132 | Closed |
| Town Of Hillsdale Land Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Unknown |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
7 places to go in Hillsdale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Hillsdale
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hillsdale
White Hill1,673 ft elevation
DirectionsShepard Hill1,627 ft elevation
DirectionsLyon Mountain1,398 ft elevation
DirectionsKijk-Uit Mountain1,286 ft elevation
DirectionsPumpkin Hollow1,227 ft elevation
DirectionsTexas Hill1,188 ft elevation
DirectionsBiking & 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
1Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Harlemville and CemeteryBuilding · listed 2002
About itPine View FarmBuilding · listed 2002
About itDr. Joseph P. Dorr HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itHillsdale Hamlet Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itNorth Hillsdale Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2010
About itColumbia Turnpike East TollhouseBuilding · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
May is the best month for walking in Hillsdale
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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 44 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Hillsdale →
Next door
Hillsdale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale | 7% | 0.1 | 37 | 14% | C+ |
| Copake | 19% | 0.5 | 1,041 | 41% | A− |
| Austerlitz | 19% | 0.5 | 2,098 | 34% | A− |
| Ghent | 10% | 0.2 | 46 | 54% | B+ |
| Claverack | 10% | 0.2 | 61 | 35% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hillsdale
Where can I hike in Hillsdale?
The longest trail networks: Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hillsdale is conserved land?
7% 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 Hillsdale’s trails?
Berkshire Hills Sculpture Garden and Harlem Valley Rail Trail don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hillsdale?
52,239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hillsdale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hillsdale have?
Ahead of 44% 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 Hillsdale 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 →