Roseboom State Forest
Nature preserve
626 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Middlefield Hamlet Historic District · Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Middlefield
Middlefield has 692 acres of parks, 385 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Roseboom State Forest (0.8 mi). 9% of Middlefield’s land is conserved, about 3,778 acres. 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
3,778 acres · of 63.3 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
692 ac
385 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,231 ft
Cornish Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Middlefield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlefield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlefield is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Middlefield’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land385 acres of park per 1,000 residents (692 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home16% 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 60%
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 Roseboom State Forest, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Glimmerglass State Park
Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
34 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Compton Bridge Conservation Area
Managed by Otsego Land Trust
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Susquehanna Wetland Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
3,778 conserved acres
9% of Middlefield’s land. Who manages Middlefield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,786 ac
County931 ac
State conservation630 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)366 ac
State parks35 ac
Town or city28 ac
Regional Water Districts3 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,023 acLocal Conservation Area · 934 acOther Easement · 639 acState Conservation Area · 630 acConservation Easement · 366 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,151 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 28 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otsego County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 931 | Restricted |
| Roseboom State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 630 | Open |
| Glimmerglass State Park State Park | State parks | 35 | Open |
| Cooperstown Village Land Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Unknown |
| Otsego Soil And Water Lands Local Conservation Area | Regional Water Districts | 3 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Middlefield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Middlefield
Cornish Hill2,231 ft elevation
DirectionsMurphy Hill1,772 ft elevation
DirectionsEggleston Hill1,762 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.0 mi
Star Field Trail1.8 mi
Susquehanna Wetland Trail0.1 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
6Tennis
4Soccer
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Middlefield: 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) | 30 | 32 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Middlefield →
Next door
Middlefield and its neighbors
Middlefield has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Middlefield11 miMilford5.7 miOtsego4.9 miWestford4.9 miRoseboom4.8 miHartwick2.8 miCherry Valley2.1 miHartwick Seminary1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlefield | 9% | 0.2 | 385 | 16% | B |
| Otsego | 7% | 0.1 | 173 | 47% | B |
| Hartwick | 6% | 0.1 | 390 | 23% | B− |
| Hartwick Seminary | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milford | 9% | 0.1 | 570 | 43% | B |
| Roseboom | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Westford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cherry Valley | 8% | 0.1 | 896 | 28% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Middlefield
Where can I hike in Middlefield?
The longest trail networks: Roseboom State Forest, 0.8 miles; Glimmerglass State Park, 0.1 miles; Compton Bridge Conservation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Middlefield is conserved land?
9% 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 Middlefield’s trails?
Roseboom State Forest and Glimmerglass State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Middlefield?
22,278 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlefield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 692 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middlefield have?
Ahead of 60% 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 Middlefield 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 →