Shaker Mountain Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
144 acres1.8 mi of trail
Northville-Placid Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Sacandaga Railroad Station · Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Northampton
Northampton has 556 acres of parks, 214 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Shaker Mountain Wild Forest (1.8 mi). 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Northampton, 0.2 per square mile of land. 4% of Northampton’s land is conserved, about 562 acres.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
562 acres · of 21.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
556 ac
214 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,211 ft
Prospect Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
9 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Northampton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Northampton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Northampton is ahead of 64% 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 Northampton’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land214 acres of park per 1,000 residents (556 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% of residents within a half mile of a park · NY 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Water is 39% of Northampton’s area (14 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Shaker Mountain Wild Forest, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wilcox Lake Wild Forest
Managed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
148 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
562 conserved acres
4% of Northampton’s land. Water is left out: Northampton has 21.1 square miles of land and 13.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Northampton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation539 ac
Town or city20 ac
Private owners2 ac
State Conservation Area · 302 acState Recreation Area · 238 acLocal Park · 20 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton Beach Campground State Recreation Area | State conservation | 218 | Open |
| Wilcox Lake Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 150 | Open |
| Shaker Mountain Wild Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 144 | Open |
| Town Of Northampton Land Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Unknown |
| Sacandaga River State Boat Launch State Recreation Area | State conservation | 20 | Open |
| Northville State Forest Preserve State Conservation Area | State conservation | 8 | Restricted |
| Private Lands Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 2 | Closed |
| Village Of Northville Land Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
15 places to go in Northampton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Northampton
9 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Northampton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Northampton
Northampton Boat Launch
DirectionsNorthville Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Northampton
Prospect Hill1,211 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Northampton
Northampton Beach Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
Northville-Placid Trail1.0 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.
Courts & fields
5Pickleball
5Soccer
3Tennis
3Baseball
2Basketball
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 Northampton: May and July to 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Northampton →
Next door
Northampton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | 4% | 0.2 | 214 | 56% | B |
| Edinburg | 23% | 1.4 | 2,123 | 7% | A− |
| Mayfield | 30% | 0.7 | 1,557 | 9% | A− |
| Broadalbin | 1% | 0.1 | 25 | 34% | C |
| Hope | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Benson | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Northampton
Where can I hike in Northampton?
The longest trail networks: Shaker Mountain Wild Forest, 1.8 miles; Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Northampton is conserved land?
4% 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 Northampton’s trails?
Shaker Mountain Wild Forest and Wilcox Lake Wild Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Northampton?
108,798 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Northampton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 556 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Northampton have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Northampton 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 →