Photo: kenneth c zirkel · CC BY-SA 3.0Kirkland has 15 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
41% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 137 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns · #643 of 758 in New York. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Kirkland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Kirkland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kirkland is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #643 of 758 in New York. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Foundation Fields
141 conserved acres
1% of Kirkland’s land. Who manages Kirkland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland, Town of Land Local Park | Town or city | 95 | Unknown |
| Clinton CSD Land Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Unknown |
| Clinton Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Village Green Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
13 places to go in Kirkland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
10 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Kirkland: 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 | 10.5 | 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 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Kirkland →
Kirkland and its neighbors
Kirkland has the most mapped trails of the 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland | 1% | 0.4 | 14 | 41% | C+ |
| Westmoreland | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 14% | C− |
| New Hartford | 3% | 0.3 | 20 | 62% | B− |
| Marshall | 2% | 0.2 | 201 | 25% | B− |
| Paris | 1% | under 0.1 | 27 | 38% | C |
| Augusta | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 33% | D |
| Vernon | under 1% | 0.3 | 12 | 65% | C+ |
| Whitestown | 4% | 0.1 | 16 | 86% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kirkland
How much of Kirkland is conserved land?
1% 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 Kirkland’s trails?
Kirkland Town Park and Foundation Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kirkland?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kirkland?
12,721 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kirkland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kirkland have?
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #643 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 Kirkland neighbors.
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 →