The Gateway Reserve
Managed by Southern Madison Heritage Trust
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jayu from Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A. · CC BY-SA 2.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Madison
Few parks or trails are on the map in Madison
5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 acres are parks and preserves, 4.1 per 1,000 residents. 3.6 miles of mapped trail cross Madison, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns · #749 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
147 acres · of 40.8 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
11 ac
4.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,821 ft
Robinson Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #749 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land4.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13CParks close to home5% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 12%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)#749 of 758
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Madison. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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.
Who protects it
147 conserved acres
1% of Madison’s land. Who manages Madison’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)105 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits31 ac
County9 ac
State conservation2 ac
Conservation Easement · 105 acRecreation or Education Easement · 26 acLocal Park · 9 acAgricultural Easement · 5 acState Recreation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 136 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| County Forest Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Madison Reservoir Fishing Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 2 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Madison
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Madison
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Madison
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Madison
Lake Moraine Boat Launch
DirectionsFishing spots in Madison
Madison Reservoir Fishing Access
DirectionsPeaks in Madison
Robinson Hill1,821 ft elevation
DirectionsBonney Hill1,765 ft elevation
DirectionsCole Hill1,670 ft elevation
DirectionsCrow Hill1,663 ft elevation
DirectionsJohnnycake Hill1,644 ft elevation
DirectionsBacon Hill1,640 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Madison
Butternut Hill Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Fire Road 4880 West0.1 mi
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
4Baseball
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
2Soccer
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Madison: 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 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Madison →
Next door
Madison 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 5% | D |
| Hamilton | 2% | 0.2 | 51 | 60% | B− |
| Sangerfield | 10% | 0.6 | 733 | 57% | A− |
| Eaton | 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 33% | C− |
| Brookfield | 24% | 0.8 | 5,640 | 30% | A |
| Augusta | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 33% | D |
| Hamilton | 2% | 0.6 | 6 | 78% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison
How much of Madison 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 Madison’s trails?
The Gateway Reserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Madison?
22,208 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison have?
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #749 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 Madison 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 →