Mount Pleasant has 76 miles of mapped trails, 2.8 for every square mile of land
25% of Mount Pleasant’s land is conserved, about 4,412 acres. 3,953 acres are parks and preserves, 88 per 1,000 residents. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #19 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
4,412 acres · of 27.4 sq mi of land
Trails
76 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,953 ac
88 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
5.8 mi paths
Highest peak
709 ft
Sarles Hill
Lakes & rivers
18
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Pleasant?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Pleasant is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #19 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Pleasant’s overall grade.
Water is 16% of Mount Pleasant’s area (5 of 33 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 21%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.
25% of Mount Pleasant’s land. Water is left out: Mount Pleasant has 27.4 square miles of land and 5.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Mount Pleasant’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,408 ac
State parks1,834 ac
County729 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits226 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government95 ac
State conservation25 ac
Regional Water Districts3 ac
Local Park · 1,786 acState Park · 1,769 acLocal Resource Management Area · 905 acLocal Conservation Area · 271 acLocal Other or Unknown · 268 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 151 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 56 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Rockefeller State Park Preserve
State Park
State parks
1,769
Open
New York City Lands
Local Resource Management Area
Town or city
902
Open
DEPT OF WATER SUP G & E Land
Local Park
Town or city
605
Unknown
Graham Hills County Park
Local Park
County
423
Open
Kensico Fishing Access Area
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
268
Unknown
TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT Land
Local Park
Town or city
266
Unknown
Hardscrabble Wilderness Area
Local Conservation Area
Town or city
238
Open
Pocantico Lake County Park
Local Park
County
141
Open
Girl Scouts of the United States of America Lands
Private Other or Unknown
Land trusts & nonprofits
107
Closed
COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER Land
Local Park
County
70
Unknown
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
47 places to go in Mount Pleasant
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mount Pleasant
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.8 mi
off-road bike paths
8.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
34Tennis
33Baseball
18Soccer
13Basketball
7Football
3Pickleball
2Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
13 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 16 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Mount Pleasant: April to June, 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)
9.5
10.6
11.8
13.3
14.5
15.1
14.9
13.8
12.4
11.0
9.8
9.2
High (°F)
38
41
49
61
71
80
85
83
76
64
53
43
Rain (in)
3.3
2.8
4.0
4.1
3.9
4.5
4.7
4.3
4.5
4.5
3.7
4.0
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Mount Pleasant →
Next door
Mount Pleasant and its neighbors
Mount Pleasant has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mount Pleasant
Where can I hike in Mount Pleasant?
The longest trail networks: Rockefeller State Park Preserve, 35.3 miles; Graham Hills Park, 12.2 miles; Hardscrabble Wilderness Area, 3.8 miles; Old Croton Aqueduct State Park, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Pleasant is conserved land?
25% 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 Mount Pleasant’s trails?
Rockefeller State Park Preserve and Graham Hills Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mount Pleasant?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of off-road paths and 8.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Mount Pleasant?
42,346 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Pleasant or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,953 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mount Pleasant have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #19 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 Mount Pleasant neighbors.
Photo: Ɱ · CC BY-SA 4.0