More than half of Indian Lake’s land is conserved: 90%
90% of Indian Lake’s land is conserved, about 144,171 acres. 42,912 acres are parks and preserves, 33,843 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Blue Mountain Wild Forest (25.5 mi), Siamese Ponds Wilderness (19.7 mi), Blue Ridge Wilderness (17.7 mi).
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Indian Lake is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Indian Lake’s overall grade.
Water is 5% of Indian Lake’s area (14 of 266 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 85%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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.
Sargent Ponds Wild Forest4,766 acres · 4.6 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Essex Chain Lakes Primitive Area1,159 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Hudson Gorge Primitive Area6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Pine Lake Primitive Area1,138 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest260 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
OK Slip Pond Primitive Area15 acres
Moose River Plains Wild Forest6 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Who protects it
144,171 conserved acres
90% of Indian Lake’s land. Water is left out: Indian Lake has 251.8 square miles of land and 14.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Indian Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation179,891 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,180 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land138 ac
Regional agency62 ac
Town or city44 ac
Private owners18 ac
State Wilderness · 65,976 acState Conservation Area · 46,223 acUnknown Easement · 32,659 acForest Stewardship Easement · 32,645 acConservation Easement · 2,786 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 35,338 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 19 of 68 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Blue Mountain Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
24,115
Open
Blue Ridge Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
23,105
Open
Siamese Ponds Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
20,566
Open
Hudson Gorge Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
13,433
Open
Jessup River Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
10,829
Open
West Canada Lake Wilderness
State Wilderness
State conservation
8,871
Open
Sargent Ponds Wild Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation
4,771
Open
Finch, Pruyn
State Conservation Area
State conservation
2,827
Restricted
Finch Pruyn
State Conservation Area
State conservation
1,651
Restricted
Essex Chain Lakes Primitive Area
State Conservation Area
State conservation
1,159
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
105 places to go in Indian Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
The best walking months in Indian Lake: May and July 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)
9.3
10.4
11.8
13.4
14.7
15.4
15.1
14.0
12.4
10.9
9.6
8.9
High (°F)
26
29
38
50
64
72
76
74
67
55
42
31
Rain (in)
3.4
2.7
3.2
3.9
4.0
4.6
4.4
4.3
3.8
4.4
3.7
3.7
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Indian Lake →
Next door
Indian Lake and its neighbors
Indian Lake has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
— 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 Indian Lake
Where can I hike in Indian Lake?
The longest trail networks: Blue Mountain Wild Forest, 25.5 miles; Siamese Ponds Wilderness, 19.7 miles; Blue Ridge Wilderness, 17.7 miles; Hudson Gorge Wilderness, 15.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Indian Lake is conserved land?
90% 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 Indian Lake’s trails?
Blue Mountain Wild Forest and Siamese Ponds Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Indian Lake?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Indian Lake?
518,623 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Indian Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 109,432 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Indian Lake have?
Ahead of 94% 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 Indian Lake neighbors.
Photo: w:en:Dsyrengelas · CC BY-SA 3.0