Lesser Wilderness State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
3,298 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Allan Green · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Martinsburg
Martinsburg has 6,474 acres of parks, 5,445 for every 1,000 residents
16% of Martinsburg’s land is conserved, about 7,920 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lesser Wilderness State Forest (1 mi). 2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Martinsburg.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
7,920 acres · of 75.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
6,474 ac
5,445 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Martinsburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Martinsburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Martinsburg is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Martinsburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land5,445 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6,474 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home42% 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 65%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Lesser Wilderness State Forest, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Grant Powell State Forest
Nature preserve
1,710 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Whetstone Gulf State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
1,349 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Whitaker Falls Park
Park
89 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Lesser Wilderness State Forest3,298 acres · 1 mi of trail · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Whitaker Falls Park89 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Grant Powell State Forest1,710 acres
Whetstone Gulf State Park1,349 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Tug Hill Wildlife Management Area18 acres
Martinsburg Town Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
7,920 conserved acres
16% of Martinsburg’s land. Who manages Martinsburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation7,794 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4,262 ac
State parks1,054 ac
Town or city354 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)122 ac
State Conservation Area · 5,034 acPrivate Conservation · 4,262 acConservation Easement · 1,490 acUnknown Easement · 1,367 acState Park · 1,054 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 130 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser Wilderness State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 3,316 | Open |
| Grant Powell State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,719 | Open |
| Tug Hill Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,421 | Restricted |
| Tug Hill Conservation Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,421 | Open |
| East Branch Fish Creek Conservation Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,372 | Closed |
| Whetstone Gulf State Park State Park | State parks | 1,054 | Open |
| Town Of Martinsburg Land Local Park | Town or city | 354 | Unknown |
| Tug Hill Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 47 | Closed |
| Tug Hill Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 20 | Open |
| West Martinsburg Radio Facility State Other or Unknown | State conservation | 4 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Martinsburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Martinsburg
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & 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
3Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Methodist Episcopal Church of West MartinsburgBuilding · listed 1983
About itMartinsburg Town HallBuilding · listed 2001
About itGen. Walter Martin HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itFirst Lewis County Clerk's OfficeBuilding · listed 2017
About itMartinsburg Common School District #4Building · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Martinsburg: May to 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 36 | 50 | 63 | 71 | 75 | 74 | 67 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 5.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Martinsburg →
Next door
Martinsburg 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martinsburg | 16% | under 0.1 | 5,445 | 42% | B |
| Watson | 52% | 0.6 | 14,532 | 28% | A |
| Greig | 52% | 0.7 | 25,317 | 43% | A |
| Montague | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Turin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lowville | 2% | under 0.1 | 30 | 57% | C |
| West Turin | 40% | 0.2 | 6,961 | 61% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Martinsburg
Where can I hike in Martinsburg?
The longest trail networks: Lesser Wilderness State Forest, 1 miles; Whitaker Falls Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Martinsburg is conserved land?
16% 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 Martinsburg’s trails?
Lesser Wilderness State Forest and Grant Powell State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Martinsburg?
86,538 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Martinsburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,505 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Martinsburg have?
Ahead of 65% 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 Martinsburg 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 →