Taconic Ridge State Forest
Nature preserve
4,148 acres12.3 mi of trail
Taconic Crest TrailProsser Hollow TrailLewis Hollow trailSara Tenney trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Petersburg Pass Parking LotWebsite ↗
Photo: Beyond My Ken · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Petersburgh
Petersburgh has 4,083 acres of parks, 3,117 for every 1,000 residents
20% of Petersburgh’s land is conserved, about 5,345 acres. The biggest trail networks: Taconic Ridge State Forest (12.3 mi), Dill Brook Community Forest (3 mi), Cowee State Forest (1.2 mi). 24 miles of mapped trail cross Petersburgh, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
5,345 acres · of 41.6 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,083 ac
3,117 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,543 ft
White Rock
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Petersburgh?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Petersburgh have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Petersburgh is ahead of 81% 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 Petersburgh’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land3,117 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,083 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home25% 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 81%
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 Taconic Ridge State Forest, with 12.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dill Brook Community Forest
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
154 acres3 mi of trail
Old Woods Loop (Yellow)Ravine Trail (Orange)Potter Hill Loop Trail (White)Overlook Trail (Red)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cowee State Forest
Managed by NYS DEC
372 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Moon Hill
Managed by Hudson Taconic Lands
191 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,345 conserved acres
20% of Petersburgh’s land. Who manages Petersburgh’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation6,031 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,127 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,072 acAgricultural Easement · 1,760 acUnknown Easement · 1,702 acPrivate Forest Stewardship · 366 acConservation Easement · 258 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 898 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taconic Ridge State Forest State Conservation Area | State conservation | 4,072 | Open |
| The Conservation Fund Land Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 366 | Closed |
| Town of Petersburgh Land Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Unknown |
Things to do
13 places to go in Petersburgh
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Petersburgh
5 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Petersburgh
White Rock2,543 ft elevation · In Taconic Ridge State Forest
DirectionsBald Mountain2,484 ft elevation · In Taconic Ridge State Forest
DirectionsWhite Rocks2,316 ft elevation
DirectionsSmith Hill2,306 ft elevation
DirectionsPoplar Hill1,463 ft elevation
DirectionsMoon Hill1,430 ft elevation
DirectionsSugarloaf Hill1,388 ft elevation
DirectionsOdell Hill1,289 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
15 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.6 miHorses · 5.6 miUnpaved · 7.5 mi
Taconic Crest Trail8.0 mi
Prosser Hollow Trail1.0 mi
Old Woods Loop (Yellow)0.7 mi
Lewis Hollow trail0.7 mi
Ravine Trail (Orange)0.7 mi
Potter Hill Loop Trail (White)0.6 mi
Overlook Trail (Red)0.4 mi
Sara Tenney trail0.3 mi
Ridge Trail (Yellow/Orange)0.3 mi
Birch Brook Trail0.3 mi
5 more trails
Old Woods Loop Trail (Yellow)
0.3 miSnow Hole Trail
0.2 miShort and Steep Trail (Blue)
0.1 miMount Raimer spur
0.1 miShepherds Well Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Petersburgh United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 2004
About itWhen to get out
May is the best month for walking in Petersburgh
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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Petersburgh →
Next door
Petersburgh and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Petersburgh
Where can I hike in Petersburgh?
The longest trail networks: Taconic Ridge State Forest, 12.3 miles; Dill Brook Community Forest, 3 miles; Cowee State Forest, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Petersburgh is conserved land?
20% 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 Petersburgh’s trails?
Taconic Ridge State Forest and Dill Brook Community Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Petersburgh?
69,897 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Petersburgh or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,109 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Petersburgh have?
Ahead of 81% 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 Petersburgh 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 →