Lost Nation State Forest
Nature preserve
858 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Hepburn Library · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Norfolk
Norfolk has 2,424 acres of parks, 551 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lost Nation State Forest (1 mi). 7% of Norfolk’s land is conserved, about 2,515 acres. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Norfolk, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #397 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,515 acres · of 56.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,424 ac
551 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
397 ft
Marble Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Norfolk?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Norfolk have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Norfolk is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #397 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Norfolk’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land551 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,424 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 65%
LessMore
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 48%
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 Lost Nation State Forest, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Raymondville State Forest
Nature preserve
635 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Grantville State Forest
Nature preserve
766 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Brasher State Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
110 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Lost Nation State Forest858 acres · 1 mi of trail
Raymondville State Forest635 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Grantville State Forest766 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Brasher State Forest110 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Norfolk Village Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,515 conserved acres
7% of Norfolk’s land. Who manages Norfolk’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation2,388 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)90 ac
Town or city20 ac
Regional agency16 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,388 acConservation Easement · 90 acLocal Park · 20 acLocal Other or Unknown · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 90 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Nation State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 867 | Open |
| Grantville State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 770 | Open |
| Raymondville State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 639 | Open |
| Brasher State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 111 | Open |
| Town Of Norfolk Land Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Unknown |
| Norwood-Norfolk Central School Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 16 | Unknown |
Things to do
2 places to go in Norfolk
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Norfolk
Marble Hill397 ft elevation
DirectionsWilbur Hill394 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Rutland Trail0.9 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.
Rutland TrailBike route
0.9 miCourts & fields
5Baseball
1Multi-sport
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 Norfolk: May 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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 38 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 44 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Norfolk →
Next door
Norfolk and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 7% | 0.1 | 551 | 45% | B |
| Louisville | 21% | 0.4 | 624 | 14% | B+ |
| Potsdam | 2% | 0.2 | 50 | 67% | B |
| Stockholm | 10% | 0.3 | 1,206 | 24% | B+ |
| Massena | 11% | 0.4 | 233 | 81% | A |
| Madrid | 7% | 0.2 | 854 | 37% | B |
| Brasher | 35% | 0.7 | 7,590 | 69% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Norfolk
Where can I hike in Norfolk?
The longest trail networks: Lost Nation State Forest, 1 miles; Raymondville State Forest, 0.3 miles; Grantville State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Norfolk is conserved land?
7% 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 Norfolk’s trails?
Lost Nation State Forest and Raymondville State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Norfolk?
39,284 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Norfolk or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,424 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Norfolk have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #397 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 Norfolk 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 →