Clapper Hollow State Forest
Nature preserve
807 acres8.2 mi of trail
Ski Trail #1Forest Access Road #3Ski Trail #10Ski Trail #9+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Parker 13-Sided Barn · Photo: Jan3d · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Jefferson
Jefferson has 1,281 acres of parks, 1,045 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Clapper Hollow State Forest (8.2 mi), Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest (1 mi). 6% of Jefferson’s land is conserved, about 1,668 acres. 23 miles of mapped trail cross Jefferson, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,668 acres · of 43.3 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,281 ac
1,045 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,812 ft
Mine Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Jefferson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jefferson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jefferson is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,045 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,281 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home26% 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 70%
LessMore
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 Clapper Hollow State Forest, with 8.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
287 acres1 mi of trail
Nys Truck Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Taylor Road Unit
Managed by New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
82 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Paulson Preserve
Managed by Schoharie Land Trust
165 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Clapper Hollow State Forest807 acres · 8.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBurnt-Rossman Hills State Forest287 acres · 1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Taylor Road Unit82 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Supply
Paulson Preserve165 acres · Schoharie Land Trust
Village Green at Jefferson2 acres
Who protects it
1,668 conserved acres
6% of Jefferson’s land. Who manages Jefferson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,104 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits557 ac
Regional Water Districts3 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,104 acAgricultural Easement · 299 acPrivate Conservation · 258 acLocal Park · 4 acLocal Other or Unknown · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 299 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clapper Hollow State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 814 | Open |
| Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 289 | Open |
| Schoharie Land Trust Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 258 | Closed |
| Jefferson Water District Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 3 | Unknown |
| Catskill Revitalization Corporation Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
| Town of Jefferson Park Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Jefferson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Jefferson
Mine Hill2,812 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Jefferson2,733 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Mountain2,723 ft elevation
DirectionsWoodchuck Hill2,680 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
21 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 13.6 mi
Ski Trail #11.5 mi
Nys Truck Trail1.4 mi
Forest Access Road #31.0 mi
Ski Trail #101.0 mi
Havrish Road Part 10.7 mi
Ski Trail #90.7 mi
Ski Trail #60.6 mi
Headwaters Trails0.6 mi
Clapper Hollow Truck Trail0.6 mi
Forest Access Road #10.6 mi
11 more trails
Ski Trail #8
0.5 miForest Access Road #4
0.5 miBuck Hill
0.5 miSki Trail #4
0.4 miSki Trail #7
0.3 miMohogany Ridge
0.3 miForest Access Road #2
0.3 miSki Trail #2
0.2 miCatskill Scenic Trail
0.2 miForest Access Road #5
0.2 miSki Trail #3
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
4Baseball
3Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jefferson: May, July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jefferson →
Next door
Jefferson and its neighbors
Jefferson has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | 6% | 0.5 | 1,045 | 26% | B+ |
| Summit | 10% | 0.1 | 2,229 | 21% | B |
| Blenheim | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Harpersfield | 1% | 0.1 | 21 | 24% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jefferson
Where can I hike in Jefferson?
The longest trail networks: Clapper Hollow State Forest, 8.2 miles; Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest, 1 miles; Taylor Road Unit, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jefferson is conserved land?
6% 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 Jefferson’s trails?
Clapper Hollow State Forest and Burnt-Rossman Hills State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jefferson?
28,698 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jefferson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,281 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jefferson have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Jefferson 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 →