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Knox HeadquartersKnox Headquarters · Photo: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in New Windsor

33% of New Windsor’s land is conserved: 7,103 acres

7,130 acres are parks and preserves, 256 per 1,000 residents. 41 miles of mapped trail cross New Windsor, 1.2 per square mile of land. 92% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #34 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Conserved land
33%
7,103 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
41 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,130 ac
256 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
Highest peak
692 ft
Snake Hill
Lakes & rivers
10
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is New Windsor?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild33% of the land is conserved; a typical New York town, 5%.Room to roam256 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does New Windsor have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Windsor is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #34 of 758 in New York. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Windsor’s overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (41 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land256 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,130 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 96%

Water is 8% of New Windsor’s area (3 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 30%.

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.

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.

1234
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 Stewart State Forest, with 29.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Stewart State Forest

Nature preserve
5,325 acres29.2 mi of trail
Drakes TrailWindsor TrailBuchanan Hill TrailLange Farm Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point

Managed by Orange County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation
160 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site

Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
45 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site

Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
98 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Stewart State Forest5,325 acres · 29.2 mi of trail
Directions
Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point160 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Orange County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation
Directions
Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site45 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Directions
Kristi Babcock Memorial Park29 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Town of New Windsor
Directions
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site98 acres · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Directions
Washingtonville Soccer Club Inc50 acres
Ruscitti Park4 acres
Butterhill Park2 acres
Who protects it

7,103 conserved acres

33% of New Windsor’s land. Water is left out: New Windsor has 34.1 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages New Windsor’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State conservation5,492 ac
Town or city1,197 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits221 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government195 ac
Other state land189 ac
State parks135 ac
Private owners108 ac
State Conservation Area · 5,492 acLocal Park · 1,300 acPrivate Conservation · 185 acLocal Recreation Area · 148 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 135 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 30 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Stewart State Forest
State Conservation Area
State conservation5,339Open
Newburgh Water Supply Land
Local Park
Town or city745Unknown
Town Of New Windsor Land
Local Park
Town or city289Unknown
Snake Hill
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits185Unknown
Kowawese Unique Area
State Conservation Area
State conservation153Open
Plum Point Park
State Park
Other state land113Open
New York City Lands
Local Resource Management Area
Town or city94Open
New Windsor Historic Parklands
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government92Open
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site
State Historic or Cultural Area
State parks89Open
Temple Hill Park
State Other or Unknown
Other state land76Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

10 places to go in New Windsor

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in New Windsor
Snake Hill692 ft elevation
Directions
Buchanan Hill650 ft elevation · In Stewart State Forest
Directions
Sloop Hill128 ft elevation · In Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 28.9 miHorses · 10.4 miUnpaved · 7.4 mi
Drakes Trail2.0 mi
Windsor Trail1.7 mi
Buchanan Hill Trail1.6 mi
Lange Farm Trail1.5 mi
White Cloud Trail1.0 mi
Pittman Robertson1.0 mi
Camp1.0 mi
Armstrong Lane Trail0.9 mi
Bear0.9 mi
V Notch Trail0.9 mi
15 more trails
Beaver Pond Trail
0.8 mi
Orchard Trail
0.7 mi
Rock Wall Trail
0.6 mi
Colden Trail
0.6 mi
Causeway
0.6 mi
White Trail
0.5 mi
Meadow View Trail
0.5 mi
Giant Steps Trail
0.5 mi
Bypass Trail
0.4 mi
Blue Trail
0.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail
0.4 mi
Pine Root
0.4 mi
Escarpment Trail
0.3 mi
Middle Earth
0.3 mi
Muskrat
0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Beaver PondBeaverdam LakereservoirBrowns PondreservoirCrest View LakeKelly's PondLake WashingtonreservoirLittle Falls PondreservoirMaroney's PondTenny's PondWhalenburgh Pond
Biking & sports

1.6 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

1.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Baseball
7Tennis
6Soccer
3Tracks
2Equestrian
2Pickleball
1Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
★
Knox HeadquartersNational Historic Landmark · Building · listed 1972
About it
New Windsor CantonmentSite · listed 1972
About it
Haskell HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About it
Edmonston HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About it
Thomas McDowell HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About it
St. Thomas Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2006
About it
Patton, James "Squire," HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About it
Denniston-Steidle HouseBuilding · listed 2012
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in New Windsor: April, May and July

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.511.813.314.515.214.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)353847607179848275635140
Rain (in)3.22.73.63.73.74.54.24.44.44.43.43.8

February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in New Windsor →

Next door

New Windsor and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Cornwall66 miFishkill51 miNew Windsor41 miMontgomery38 miBlooming Grove17 miNewburgh12 miHamptonburgh7.6 miNewburgh3.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
New Windsor33%1.225692%A+
Cornwall40%2.533791%A+
Newburgh5%1.0492%B+
Newburgh— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Montgomery11%0.810278%A
Hamptonburgh8%0.319840%B+
Blooming Grove4%0.54975%B+
Fishkill43%1.919974%A+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in New Windsor

Where can I hike in New Windsor?

The longest trail networks: Stewart State Forest, 29.2 miles; Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point, 1.3 miles; Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of New Windsor is conserved land?

33% 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 Windsor’s trails?

Stewart State Forest and Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in New Windsor?

1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.

Is there public land near New Windsor?

65,867 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Windsor or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,131 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does New Windsor have?

Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 New Windsor neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →