General Jacob Morris State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,175 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Morris Village Historic District · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Morris
Morris has 1,589 acres of parks, 837 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Morris’ land is conserved, about 2,981 acres. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Morris. 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,981 acres · of 39.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,589 ac
837 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,726 ft
Harris Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Morris?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Morris have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Morris is ahead of 60% 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 Morris’ overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land837 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,589 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Calhoun Creek State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
269 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Wagner Farm State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
65 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,981 conserved acres
12% of Morris’ land. Who manages Morris’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,527 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,174 ac
County462 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)34 ac
Regional Water Districts2 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,521 acOther Easement · 613 acAgricultural Easement · 480 acLocal Park · 231 acLocal Conservation Area · 231 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,206 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Jacob Morris State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,184 | Open |
| Calhoun Creek State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 270 | Open |
| County Forest Local Park | County | 231 | Open |
| Otsego County Lands Local Conservation Area | County | 231 | Restricted |
| Wagner Farm State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 67 | Open |
| Morris Reservoir Waterway Access State Recreation Area | State conservation | 6 | Open |
| Morris Water Works Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 2 | Unknown |
| Morris Village Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Morris
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Morris
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Morris
Harris Hill1,726 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 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
4Baseball
3Soccer
2Basketball
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).
Zion Episcopal Church Complex and Harmony CemeteryDistrict · listed 1997
About itAll Saints Chapel and Morris Family Burial GroundBuilding · listed 1997
About itMorris-Lull FarmDistrict · listed 2005
About itMorris Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013
About itSt. Stephen’s ChapelBuilding · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Morris: 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 | 33 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Morris →
Next door
Morris and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Otego8.7 miNew Lisbon7.3 miPittsfield2.3 miNew Berlin1.6 miButternuts1.5 miLaurens0.7 miMorris0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morris | 12% | under 0.1 | 837 | 45% | B |
| New Berlin | 11% | under 0.1 | 1,172 | 57% | B+ |
| Butternuts | 2% | under 0.1 | 237 | 24% | C+ |
| Laurens | 2% | under 0.1 | 170 | 27% | C+ |
| Pittsfield | 3% | 0.1 | 374 | 10% | C+ |
| New Lisbon | 10% | 0.2 | 1,174 | 10% | 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 Morris
How much of Morris is conserved land?
12% 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 Morris’ trails?
General Jacob Morris State Forest and Calhoun Creek State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Morris?
14,524 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Morris or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,589 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Morris 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 Morris 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 →