Stissing Mountain
Managed by Nature Conservancy
522 acres5.3 mi of trail
Yellow TrailTower TrailWhite TrailBlue Trail+1
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pine Plains
Pine Plains has 930 acres of parks, 415 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Stissing Mountain (5.3 mi), Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area (2.2 mi). 8% of Pine Plains’ land is conserved, about 1,489 acres. 47% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,489 acres · of 30.6 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
930 ac
415 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
47%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Highest peak
1,394 ft
Stissing Mountain
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Pine Plains?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pine Plains have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pine Plains is ahead of 75% 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 Pine Plains’ overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NY town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · NY 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land415 acres of park per 1,000 residents (930 acres) · NY 31 · U.S. 13AParks close to home47% 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 75%
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 Stissing Mountain, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area
Park
372 acres2.2 mi of trail
Blue Buzzard TrailYellow Warbler Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
FOSL
Managed by FOSL
38 acres0.1 mi of trail
Old Red trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Stissing Mountain522 acres · 5.3 mi of trail · Nature Conservancy
DirectionsStissing Mountain Multiple Use Area372 acres · 2.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFOSL38 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · FOSL
DirectionsStissing Lake Park20 acres
DirectionsLafayetteville Multiple Use Area1 acres · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Who protects it
1,489 conserved acres
8% of Pine Plains’ land. Who manages Pine Plains’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,793 ac
State conservation377 ac
County200 ac
Joint151 ac
Town or city30 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)14 ac
Private Conservation · 1,053 acAgricultural Easement · 740 acState Resource Management Area · 377 acConservation Easement · 363 acLocal Park · 31 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 556 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 33 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Pond Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,053 | Open |
| Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 376 | Open |
| Town Of Pine Plains Land Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Unknown |
| County Of Dutchess Land Local Park | County | 1 | Unknown |
| Lafayetteville Multiple Use Area State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Pine Plains
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Pine Plains
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Pine Plains
Shekomeko Creek Parking Fishing Access
DirectionsPeaks in Pine Plains
Stissing Mountain1,394 ft elevation
DirectionsShults Hill1,096 ft elevation
DirectionsLittle Stissing Mountain1,053 ft elevation
DirectionsProspect Hill1,030 ft elevation
DirectionsHicks Hill981 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.9 mi
Yellow Trail2.4 mi
Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad1.8 mi
Blue Trail1.3 mi
Old Red trail0.8 mi
Tower Trail0.8 mi
White Trail0.5 mi
Red Trail - Upper section0.5 mi
Blue Buzzard Trail0.4 mi
Red trail0.2 mi
Yellow Warbler Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
4Softball
4Tennis
3Baseball
2Soccer
2Field hockey
1Beach volleyball
1Football
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). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Pine Plains: 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 74 | 62 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Pine Plains →
Next door
Pine Plains 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Plains | 8% | 0.4 | 415 | 47% | A− |
| Milan | 7% | 0.3 | 367 | 10% | B |
| North East | 15% | 0.5 | 942 | 69% | A |
| Gallatin | 11% | 0.2 | 627 | 9% | B |
| Stanford | 3% | 0.2 | 82 | 21% | B− |
| Ancram | 24% | 0.5 | 528 | 13% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pine Plains
Where can I hike in Pine Plains?
The longest trail networks: Stissing Mountain, 5.3 miles; Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area, 2.2 miles; FOSL, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pine Plains is conserved land?
8% 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 Pine Plains’ trails?
Stissing Mountain and Stissing Mountain Multiple Use Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pine Plains?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pine Plains?
23,378 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pine Plains or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 935 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pine Plains have?
Ahead of 75% 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 Pine Plains 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 →