Peck Hill State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
2,851 acres14.9 mi of trail
Perimeter LoopMiddle EarthHaul Road LoopFarm Trail Connector+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Johnstown
Johnstown has 7,097 acres of parks, 1,100 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Johnstown’s land is conserved, about 7,739 acres. The biggest trail networks: Peck Hill State Forest (14.9 mi), Rockwood State Forest (5.6 mi). 43 miles of mapped trail cross Johnstown, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #171 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
7,739 acres · of 70.4 sq mi of land
Trails
43 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,097 ac
1,100 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 1.4 mi paths
Highest peak
1,283 ft
Clapper Hill
Lakes & rivers
12
What kind of outdoors town is Johnstown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Johnstown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Johnstown is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #171 of 758 in New York. 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 Johnstown’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (43 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1,100 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,097 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home49% 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
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 78%
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 Peck Hill State Forest, with 14.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rockwood State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
694 acres5.6 mi of trail
South Loop TrailC-North TrailChimney Loop TrailTrail to Lake+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Shaker Mountain Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
7,739 conserved acres
17% of Johnstown’s land. Who manages Johnstown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city3,602 ac
State conservation3,553 ac
Private owners372 ac
Other state land130 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)116 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits66 ac
County33 ac
Local Park · 3,635 acState Conservation Area · 3,553 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 437 acState Wilderness · 130 acConservation Easement · 116 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 116 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peck Hill State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 2,849 | Open |
| City Of Johnstown Land Local Park | Town or city | 1,854 | Unknown |
| City Of Gloversville Land Local Park | Town or city | 1,293 | Unknown |
| Rockwood State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 699 | Open |
| Village Of Canajoharie Land Local Park | Town or city | 448 | Unknown |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 372 | Closed |
| Unclassified State Conservation Area | State conservation | 130 | Open |
| Wilderness Fund For Kids Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 59 | Closed |
| Fulton County Lands Local Park | County | 33 | Open |
| Sir William Johnson Council Lands Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Closed |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Johnstown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Johnstown
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Johnstown
Clapper Hill1,283 ft elevation
DirectionsErkenbrack Hill1,184 ft elevation
DirectionsClip Hill
DirectionsPeck Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
22 named trails and 12 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 16.6 mi
Perimeter Loop3.8 mi
Middle Earth1.9 mi
Sump City to Farm Trails1.6 mi
South Loop Trail0.5 mi
C-North Trail0.5 mi
Big Bear Trail0.5 mi
Buster0.4 mi
Spring Creek Trail0.4 mi
Chimney Loop Trail0.3 mi
South Loop Trail Extension0.3 mi
12 more trails
Haul Road Loop
0.3 miFarm Trail Connector
0.3 miPowerline
0.3 miEight Bee
0.3 miSump City Brewery Connect
0.2 miB-Line
0.2 miOld School
0.2 miTrail to Lake
0.2 miUp N Down
0.1 miFMCC
0.1 miTBC
0.1 miOtter Slide Loop
0.1 miBiking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
6Soccer
5Baseball
2Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Johnstown: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Johnstown →
Next door
Johnstown and its neighbors
Johnstown has the second most mapped trails of the 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown | 17% | 0.6 | 1,100 | 49% | A |
| Gloversville | 3% | 0.5 | 8 | 98% | B+ |
| Bleecker | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mayfield | 30% | 0.7 | 1,557 | 9% | A− |
| Mohawk | 1% | 0.1 | 66 | 49% | C+ |
| Caroga | 67% | 0.6 | 22,255 | 75% | A |
| Ephratah | 18% | 0.3 | 1,389 | 25% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Johnstown
Where can I hike in Johnstown?
The longest trail networks: Peck Hill State Forest, 14.9 miles; Rockwood State Forest, 5.6 miles; Shaker Mountain Wild Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Johnstown is conserved land?
17% 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 Johnstown’s trails?
Peck Hill State Forest and Rockwood State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Johnstown?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Johnstown?
94,033 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Johnstown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,230 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Johnstown have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #171 of 758 in New York. 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 Johnstown 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 →