Gilbert Lake State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
183 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Kenyon Residences · Photo: ErixS · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Laurens
Laurens has 387 acres of parks, 170 for every 1,000 residents
0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Laurens. 27% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Laurens’ land is conserved, about 569 acres.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
569 acres · of 42.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
387 ac
170 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,831 ft
East Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Laurens?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Laurens have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Laurens is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Laurens’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land170 acres of park per 1,000 residents (387 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home27% 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 38%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Milford State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
119 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
569 conserved acres
2% of Laurens’ land. Who manages Laurens’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks186 ac
State conservation120 ac
Private owners99 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)87 ac
Regional Water Districts59 ac
Town or city14 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government2 ac
State Park · 186 acState Conservation Area · 120 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 99 acConservation Easement · 87 acLocal Resource Management Area · 59 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 87 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Lake State Park State Park | State parks | 182 | Open |
| Milford State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 120 | Open |
| Private Lands Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 99 | Closed |
| Oneonta Water Lands Local Resource Management Area | Regional Water Districts | 59 | Open |
| Board Of Education Of The Land Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Unknown |
| Village Of Laurens Land Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Unknown |
| Gilbert Lake State Park | State parks | 3 | Open |
| Mount Vision Board Of Fire Commission Lands Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Laurens
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Laurens
East Hill1,831 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & 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
2Basketball
1Baseball
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Laurens: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Laurens →
Next door
Laurens 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens | 2% | under 0.1 | 170 | 27% | C+ |
| New Lisbon | 10% | 0.2 | 1,174 | 10% | B |
| Oneonta | 9% | 0.3 | 346 | 56% | A− |
| Morris | 12% | under 0.1 | 837 | 45% | B |
| Milford | 9% | 0.1 | 570 | 43% | B |
| Otego | 1% | 0.2 | 18 | 32% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Laurens
How much of Laurens is conserved land?
2% 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 Laurens’ trails?
Gilbert Lake State Park and Milford State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Laurens?
15,226 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Laurens or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 387 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Laurens have?
Ahead of 38% 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 Laurens 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 →