Hand Hollow State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
1,133 acres2.8 mi of trail
Spiegelberg Lake trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Adam Lenhardt · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in New Lebanon
New Lebanon has 1,422 acres of parks, 626 for every 1,000 residents
14% of New Lebanon’s land is conserved, about 3,225 acres. The biggest trail networks: Hand Hollow State Forest (2.8 mi), Hand Hollow Conservation Area (2.7 mi), Abode of the Message (2.5 mi). 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
3,225 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,422 ac
626 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Highest peak
1,496 ft
West Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is New Lebanon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Lebanon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Lebanon is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Lebanon’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land626 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,422 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home38% 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 78%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Hand Hollow State Forest, with 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hand Hollow Conservation Area
Managed by Columbia Land Conservancy
395 acres2.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Abode of the Message
Managed by Abode of the Message
245 acres2.5 mi of trail
Jamil Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Shatford Memorial Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,225 conserved acres
14% of New Lebanon’s land. Who manages New Lebanon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits4,094 ac
State conservation1,132 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)120 ac
Town or city28 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,416 acState Conservation Area · 1,132 acConservation Easement · 1,003 acForest Stewardship Easement · 935 acPrivate Conservation · 859 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,632 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Hollow State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 1,132 | Open |
| Columbia Land Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 433 | Closed |
| Hand Hollow Conservation Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 426 | Closed |
| Town Of New Lebanon Land Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in New Lebanon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in New Lebanon
Suspended overlookIn Abode of the Message
DirectionsPeaks in New Lebanon
West Hill1,496 ft elevation
DirectionsGale Hill1,155 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
North Pasture Trail1.1 mi
Jamil Loop0.9 mi
Spiegelberg Lake trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
5Tennis
1Multi-sport
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Elisha Gilbert HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itLebanon Springs Union Free SchoolBuilding · listed 1991
About itChurch of Our SaviourBuilding · listed 1997
About itDonnelly HouseBuilding · listed 2000
About itTilden, Gov. Samuel J., MonumentObject · listed 2006
About itBigelow-Finch-Fowler FarmDistrict · listed 2019
About itNew Lebanon District No. 8 SchoolBuilding · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in New Lebanon: May, July and August
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) | 32 | 35 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in New Lebanon →
Next door
New Lebanon and its neighbors
New Lebanon has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Lebanon | 14% | 0.4 | 626 | 38% | A− |
| Stephentown | 17% | 0.7 | 839 | 12% | A− |
| Chatham | 6% | 0.1 | 28 | 21% | B− |
| Canaan | 8% | 0.1 | 292 | 15% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in New Lebanon
Where can I hike in New Lebanon?
The longest trail networks: Hand Hollow State Forest, 2.8 miles; Hand Hollow Conservation Area, 2.7 miles; Abode of the Message, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Lebanon is conserved land?
14% 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 New Lebanon’s trails?
Hand Hollow State Forest and Hand Hollow Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Lebanon?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near New Lebanon?
48,112 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Lebanon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,423 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New Lebanon have?
Ahead of 78% 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 New Lebanon 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 →