Batten Kill State Forest
Nature preserve
517 acres1.8 mi of trail
Folded Rock Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Jackson
Jackson has 1,184 acres of parks, 698 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Jackson’s land is conserved, about 2,835 acres. The biggest trail networks: Batten Kill State Forest (1.8 mi). 2.6 miles of mapped trail cross Jackson, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,835 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,184 ac
698 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
Highest peak
1,266 ft
Mount Colfax
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Jackson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jackson’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land698 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,184 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home36% 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 63%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Batten Kill State Forest, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,835 conserved acres
12% of Jackson’s land. Who manages Jackson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,343 ac
State conservation1,063 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)831 ac
State parks118 ac
Regional Water Districts26 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,167 acState Conservation Area · 1,062 acState Park · 118 acLocal Other or Unknown · 26 acConservation Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,629 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 48 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eldridge Swamp State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 531 | Open |
| Batten Kill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 523 | Open |
| Lake Lauderdale Park State Park | State parks | 118 | Open |
| Cambridge Water Works Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 26 | Unknown |
| Goose Egg State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 8 | Open |
| Battenkill River Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Jackson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Jackson
Hedges Community Playground
DirectionsPeaks in Jackson
Mount Colfax1,266 ft elevation
DirectionsScotch Hill781 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Jackson
Lake Lauderdale Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Folded Rock Trail1.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jackson: May 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jackson →
Next door
Jackson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | 12% | 0.1 | 698 | 36% | B |
| Salem | 6% | 0.1 | 4 | 12% | C− |
| Greenwich | 5% | 0.2 | 33 | 50% | B− |
| Cambridge | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| White Creek | 13% | 0.4 | 1,127 | 30% | A− |
| Cambridge | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 25% | D |
| Easton | 15% | 0.2 | 45 | 16% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson
Where can I hike in Jackson?
The longest trail networks: Batten Kill State Forest, 1.8 miles; Goose Egg State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jackson is conserved land?
12% 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 Jackson’s trails?
Batten Kill State Forest and Eldridge Swamp State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jackson?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Jackson?
20,099 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,184 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jackson have?
Ahead of 63% 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 Jackson 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 →