High Falls
Managed by Columbia Land Conservancy
50 acres1.3 mi of trail
Waterfall Way (Green)Locust Lane (Red)Agawamuck Trail (Blue)Hemlock Trail (Blue)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Philmont
19% of Philmont’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 19% of Philmont’s land is conserved, about 145 acres. 97 acres are parks and preserves, 67 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
145 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
97 ac
67 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Philmont?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Philmont have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Philmont is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Philmont’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land67 acres of park per 1,000 residents (97 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all 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
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 High Falls, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
145 conserved acres
19% of Philmont’s land. Who manages Philmont’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits119 ac
State parks44 ac
Town or city41 ac
Private Conservation · 98 acState Recreation Area · 44 acLocal Park · 41 acAgricultural Easement · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Land Conservancy Land Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 49 | Closed |
| High Falls Conservation Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 49 | Closed |
| Harlem Valley Rail Trail State Recreation Area | State parks | 44 | Open |
| Village of Philmont Land Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Philmont
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Philmont
High Falls WaterfallIn High Falls
DirectionsPlus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Philmont
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.3 mi
Waterfall Way (Green)0.4 mi
Locust Lane (Red)0.4 mi
Agawamuck Trail (Blue)0.2 mi
Hemlock Trail (Blue)0.1 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Philmont: April and May
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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 61 | 49 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Philmont →
Questions about parks and trails in Philmont
Where can I hike in Philmont?
The longest trail networks: High Falls, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Philmont is conserved land?
19% 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 Philmont’s trails?
High Falls and Harlem Valley Rail Trail don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Philmont?
9,163 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Philmont or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 97 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Philmont have?
Ahead of 98% 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 Philmont 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 →