Lake George Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
7,134 acres7.5 mi of trail
Lily Pond trailRound Pond trailLong Pond TrailDetour
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Heintzelman Library · Photo: Ɱ (Taken by Arnold Feist, original file transferred to User:Ɱ) · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Horicon
Horicon has 7,572 acres of parks, 4,454 for every 1,000 residents
32% of Horicon’s land is conserved, about 13,603 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lake George Wild Forest (7.5 mi), Pharaoh Lake Wilderness (4.9 mi), Town of Horicon (0.7 mi). 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
13,603 acres · of 65.8 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,572 ac
4,454 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,005 ft
Park Mountain
Lakes & rivers
22
13 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Horicon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Horicon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Horicon is ahead of 86% 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 Horicon’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4,454 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,572 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% 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 86%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Horicon’s area (6 of 72 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 30%.
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 Lake George Wild Forest, with 7.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
Nature preserve
4,122 acres4.9 mi of trail
Crab Pond TrailPharoah Lake Trailcamp path (blue blazes)Sucker Brook Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Town of Horicon
Managed by Town of Horicon
34 acres0.7 mi of trail
Fox Hill trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
First Brother Primitive Area
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
90 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
13,603 conserved acres
32% of Horicon’s land. Water is left out: Horicon has 65.8 square miles of land and 6.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Horicon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation12,911 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits673 ac
Private owners11 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 8,755 acState Wilderness · 4,134 acOther Easement · 490 acConservation Easement · 182 acState Recreation Area · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 673 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake George Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 7,160 | Open |
| Pharaoh Lake Wilderness State Wilderness | State conservation | 4,134 | Open |
| Schroon Lake State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,506 | Restricted |
| First Brother Primitive Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 89 | Open |
| Horicon Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State conservation | 18 | Open |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 11 | Closed |
| Town of Horicon Land Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Unknown |
| Eagle Point Campground State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
| Scaroon Manor Campground State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
Things to do
53 places to go in Horicon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Horicon
13 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Horicon
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Horicon
Schroon Lake Waterway Access
DirectionsScenic views in Horicon
Gore mountain overlookIn Town of Horicon
DirectionsLittle Sister ViewIn First Brother Primitive Area
DirectionsLong Pond OverlookIn Lake George Wild Forest
DirectionsMill Pond overlookIn Town of Horicon
DirectionsMoxham mountain overlookIn Town of Horicon
DirectionsPlus 8 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Horicon
Park Mountain2,005 ft elevation · In Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
DirectionsNumber Eight Mountain1,942 ft elevation · In Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
DirectionsSecond Brother1,854 ft elevation · In Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
DirectionsLittle Stevens1,719 ft elevation · In Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
DirectionsFirst Brother1,667 ft elevation · In First Brother Primitive Area
DirectionsSutter Mountain1,667 ft elevation
DirectionsPrickly Ash Mountain1,637 ft elevation
DirectionsKeil Mountain1,572 ft elevation
Directions11 more peaks
Fox Hill1,506 ft elevation
DirectionsPollyann Mountain1,503 ft elevation
DirectionsAmasa Mountain1,490 ft elevation
DirectionsPhoebes Knob1,486 ft elevation
DirectionsSand Beach Mountain1,385 ft elevation
DirectionsBartonville Mountain1,381 ft elevation
DirectionsBuck Mountain1,345 ft elevation
DirectionsGrasshopper Hill1,339 ft elevation
DirectionsBaldwin Mountain1,319 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Mountain1,309 ft elevation
DirectionsHawk Hill1,296 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Horicon
Curtis S. Read Scout ReservationGreater Hudson Valley Council, Scouting America
DirectionsPlus 2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
16 named trails and 22 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.0 miHorses · 1.9 miUnpaved · 18.6 mi
Crab Pond Trail1.7 mi
Lily Pond trail1.4 mi
Round Pond trail1.3 mi
Stairway to Heaven1.2 mi
Long Pond Trail1.1 mi
Constellation0.9 mi
Ricks Run0.9 mi
Golden Carrot Loop0.9 mi
Fox Hill trail0.7 mi
Jack and Jill0.6 mi
6 more trails
Pharoah Lake Trail
0.6 micamp path (blue blazes)
0.4 miSucker Brook Trail
0.2 miRebound Loop
0.2 miDetour
0.2 miCanoe launch path
0.1 miLakes & 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
5Tennis
4Baseball
4Pickleball
3Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Heintzelman LibraryBuilding · listed 2017
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Horicon: May, August 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Horicon →
Next door
Horicon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horicon | 32% | 0.4 | 4,454 | 44% | A |
| Chester | 7% | 0.8 | 1,113 | 34% | A− |
| Pottersville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Warrensburg | 23% | 1.1 | 1,803 | 83% | A+ |
| Bolton | 38% | 1.1 | 7,376 | 34% | A |
| Schroon | 74% | 0.6 | 8,817 | 55% | A |
| Hague | — 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 Horicon
Where can I hike in Horicon?
The longest trail networks: Lake George Wild Forest, 7.5 miles; Pharaoh Lake Wilderness, 4.9 miles; Town of Horicon, 0.7 miles; First Brother Primitive Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Horicon is conserved land?
32% 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 Horicon’s trails?
Lake George Wild Forest and Pharaoh Lake Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Horicon?
157,499 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Horicon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11,709 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Horicon have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Horicon 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 →